Start Again
by AwakeAndAliveSpartan
Summary: If you had a chance to make everything right, would you take it? Ward awakes to find out he's been comatose for a month and it's a year in the past. His dilemma of the past year was just all of coma-induced dream. Or was it? He's been given a glimpse of what is to result from his betrayal and now has he chance to make everything right. Will he take this chance to start again?
1. Chapter 1 (And All You Forgive)

**Chapter One (And All You Forgive)**

He awoke in a severe fit of dry and hoarse coughing, the light from above seering his eyes. Everything hurt, and everything in his mind was clouded. He had no clue what had happened. He remembered being with Kara and then nothing. It was like everything had gone blank.

The voice came before his eyes could adjust to his surroundings. It came as a surprise to him, the last voice he thought he would ever hear again. Skye.

"Grant?"

Ward blinked and his eyes adjusted to the light. He surveyed his surroundings. White walls surrounded him and he was in a hospital bed, an IV attached to his hand. What happened? This was a SHIELD infirmary room, why was he in here?

He looked over to see Skye standing in front of a chair near the bed, a look of relief and joy on her face. "S-Skye?" he croaked out, his voice dry and raspy. "What's going on? Where am I?"

Why would Skye be in the room with him? Last thing he remembered was that she absolutely hated him. What was going on?"

"We're in the hospital section of the Hub." Skye replied, coming closer to the bed.

The Hub? That didn't sound right. Ward swore that it fell in the Hydra Uprising. Why would he be here?

"Hospital?"

"Grant, you've been in a coma for a while. A month to be exact. There was an explosion during a mission we were on. You got hurt, bad. Doctors don't know exactly what caused the coma, but they think you hit your head really hard." Skye explained. "They didn't think that you would ever wake up."

A hollow feeling settled into Ward's stomach. A month? An explosion during a mission? He hadn't been on any mission with SHIELD. He swore that he was an enemy of SHIELD last time he checked.

"A month? W-What's the date?" he asked, his throat killing him.

"April 9th, 2014." Skye replied.

Ward's face fell, as he still struggled to sit up. 2014? What? Wasn't it sometime in 2015 last time he checked? Nothing was making since, but he really didn't know. His mind was still frazzled from everything.

He didn't say anything about the date to Skye, he thought he was just out of it.

"But that doesn't matter." Skye continued. "At least you're awake. Oh! I need to go tell the others that you're awake. Coulson and May should be together, and there's no telling to where Fitzsimmons have gone to." She darted out of the room, leaving Ward by himself.

Ward blinked, looking towards the wall in front of him. What was going on? He wakes up, only to find that he had been in a coma for a month and that it was a year _earlier _than he thought. Skye was treating him like how it was before his reveal as Hydra. And where was Kara? And what about this 'mission' they had been on? He wasn't a part of the team anymore.

"Ward?"

He looked over to see Coulson, May, and Fitzsimmons coming into the room. Didn't they have like three other agents with them? Still, nothing was making since.

They all had smiles on their faces, even May of all people. What the hell was going on?

"How do you feel?" Simmons asked. "I know we need to get the main doctor in here to completely check you out."

"Like hell." Ward croaked.

"Well, I'm surprised that you're even sitting up like that since you've been out for a month." Simmons continued. "But you're strong, I don't think that a month-long coma would affect you that much."  
Coulson walked over, "Ward, the doctors didn't think that you would ever wake up. They thought you would just stay comatose and die. You beat the odds."

Skye smiled, "Well, he _is _a robot, so I wouldn't be surprised."

"Was he just recharging?" Fitz joked.

"Most likely." May added.

Ward blinked and frowned, trying to figure out why they were joking with him and _not _trying to kill him or lock him up. What exactly had happened to him? It still didn't make any sense.

"I don't think I was recharging." Ward rasped, reaching up to scratch his face with his left hand. But he stopped halfway up, staring at his wrist just below the palm of his hand.

There was nothing there. There had been a long, ragged scar there where he had tried to kill himself just months before. But there was nothing there now. It was clear and smooth. No marks, nothing.

"Ward, what's the matter?" Coulson asked, trying to figure out why Ward was staring at his wrist.

Ward blinked and lowered his arm, looking back at Coulson and the others, "Uh, nothing, my head just hurts."

"You probably just need some rest." Simmons said. "Which isn't being in a coma for a month."

"I think I've had enough rest for a while." Ward retorted the best he could through his confusion and dwindling pain. "I-I think I'll be okay for a while."

"I'm going to find the head med agent though." Simmons responded. "You need a full physical eval to make sure everything is okay. No getting out of bed until you're cleared though. Still, I'm surprised that you are talking this much, even if it isn't a whole lot."

And with that, Simmons left the room, along with Fitz, to find the Hub's head med agent.

Ward blinked and looked to the three remaining agents, "Did I miss anything?" he asked.

"Well, not much." Coulson said. "Skye wouldn't leave your side, so she's been in here a lot. We've still haven't figured out who the Clairvoyant is yet. We tracked him to a racetrack in Florida, but it was a bust.

Ward's stomach froze, "The who what now?" he asked. The Clairvoyant? That was a long time ago.

"The Clairvoyant. You know, the guy with Centipede." Skye said.

It hit Ward like a train. This was right before the Hydra Uprising. Before everything went to hell. But what about the past year or so he had experienced? His time in the Vault? San Juan? Kara? Had that all just been a dream?

But it seemed to be way too vivid and long to be a dream. Something seemed really off about all of it.

All Ward could do was nod in response. There was nothing he could say. He couldn't say that he experienced a reality in which he was their enemy, then they would know his secret. And he was starting to feel weird about everything.

Just what exactly was going on?

But for some reason, Ward felt like all of it really happened. Just not now, like it was a glimpse into the future or something. But he didn't believe in any of that, so he just started to believe that it was a really vivid and intense dream. He just wasn't so sure though.

He looked to the three agents standing in front of him. Wait, was Skye even an agent yet now? He wasn't sure. He looked to the wall and didn't say anything.

But then a voice, like a ghost, came out of nowhere. The voice he hoped that was gone forever. The voice of the man that had dragged him down into the depths of hell.

"So, son, I hear you're awake!"

Ward's face grew stark-white as he looked to see _Garrett _of all people coming into the room along with Triplett. Now Ward just _knew _that something wa really wrong here, that something major had happened to him.

The bastard that he had grown to hate since his time in the Vault was alive and now he really knew that that year of turmoil he had spent was just a dream. Or was it?

"John?" Ward asked.

"What's wrong?" Garrett asked. "It looks like you've seen a ghost."

"Rather like a demon." Ward mumbled under his breath.

Garrett frowned, "What?"  
"Nothing."

Now nothing made sense to Ward. Garrett was alive, the team liked him, and there was no Hydra. Hell, he was still a part of the team. But what he had experienced felt so real, he couldn't believe that it could've just been all a dream.

And as the agents stood around him, smiling, he knew something was off about everything. It was like something was giving him a chance to do something. But, yet again, nothing made sense.

Maybe it all was just a wild dream and he had nothing to worry about. But the threat of Hydra was still there, waiting to strike. And he and Garrett were still technically Hydra, that threat of betrayal was still there.

Maybe what he had seen was true, the future to come. Maybe this was a chance to make it all right, to deter himself from his demise. Or maybe he was just crazy.

But second chances come in the strangest forms, in the ways you least expect. Maybe this was a second chance.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. New story idea! I hope it works. It's basically where what Ward went through was a dream of the future in his coma and now he has the chance to make everything right before it all goes to hell again. And I'm not sure of the date in the show right now, so I used the current date assuming it's around that and set it back like a year. It'll work for just this. But I hope this works! Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	2. Chapter 2 (What If I Want to Try?)

**Chapter Two (What If I Want to Try?)**

* * *

_**Thanks for all of the response for this fic! I didn't expect it to go so far in the first chapter!**_

* * *

(Two Days Later)

Skye looked over to Ward, who still was laid up in the hospital bed, and frowned. For the past two days, he hadn't really said much to her, or anyone for that matter. He was hesitant around everyone, almost like he was afraid of them. He was kind of jumpy, distant, and cold. Something was the matter.

"Grant," Skye began. "Is something bothering you?" she asked.

Ward blinked and gulped, looking over to where Skye sat in the chair near his bed. She hadn't left that spot in two days. "No." he replied. "Why?"

"You haven't said much since you woke up." Skye responded. "Whenever someone has been in here, no matter it's me, Coulson, Fitz, whoever. You've been quiet and distant. Is something wrong?"  
Ward shook his head, "No, I'm fine. Other than the fact that I just woke up from a month-long coma and can't really move my legs that well." he said. "Other than that, I'm fine."

"Grant, there's something else wrong." Skye continued. "Not just that your muscles are weak. Grant, you haven't even looked at me right. It's like it hurts you to look at me. Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

Ward looked down and didn't look at Skye. The vivid scene of her shooting him played in his mind like a movie. He flinched in response. But wasn't that just a dream? But why did it feel so real?

"Grant?"

Ward looked back to Skye, seeing concern on her face, "What?" he asked.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" she asked. "Does Simmons need to get the head med agent to run a head scan or something? 'Cause I think there is something wrong with you."

Ward shook his head again, shifting uncomfortably in his bed, "Skye, I already told you, I'm fine. I just feel weak and disoriented. That's all. Try being in a coma for a month, it'll do it to you."

"Grant, it's just that you've been acting really weird towards everyone. You look at Coulson like he's going to kill you. The same with me. You look at Fitzsimmons with regret for some God forsaken reason.

Hell, you look at Garrett like he's the Devil. He's your S.O. for God's sakes. What's going on?" she asked. "Grant, you can tell me."  
"You wouldn't understand." Ward said under his breath, where Skye couldn't hear him. "You really wouldn't."

Skye frowned, "What?"  
"Nothing. Skye, I promise that I'm fine. I'm just disoriented. Give it some time, I'll be fine." Ward continued. "My mind's just fuzzy, that's all."

Skye took a breath, "I really hope that you're right." she said. She looked at his weak, ragged complexion. His skin was still pale and thin. His entire was thin and wasn't nearly as muscular as he had been. And his hair was shaggy and he had a beard going on.

"You know, you've really got to clean up." Skye continued, with a slight smile. "At least shave or something."  
"I would, if I could get out of bed." Ward retorted. "Skye, I tried walking yesterday. I basically can't. The muscles in my legs atrophied from not moving for a month. Simmons said it's going to take a lot of work before I'm back to full health again. I don't think I can simply get up to shave."

"Then get Jemma to give you some crutches or whatnot. I can push you in a wheelchair."

Ward's face fell, "Oh, I'm not trusting you to push me around in a wheelchair." he stated coldly. "You'll run me into the wall. Or try to race me down the hallway with Fitz in another wheelchair."

Skye smirked, "Sounds fun though."

"Well not to me!" Ward exclaimed. "That is my rule, you are not to push me around in any wheelchairs."

"Whatever." Skye scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"What's going on in here?"

Ward looked to see Simmons coming into the room along with Garrett. And of course, Ward froze up seeing his S.O.

"Grant doesn't want me pushing him around in a wheelchair because I will either 'run him into a wall' or 'race him down the hallway'." Skye explained.

"Well, to his defense, it does sound like something you would do." Simmons commented.

"See?" Ward asked, throwing his hands up. "I was right."

"Whatever." Skye scoffed again.

Garrett sighed and walked closer to Ward's bed. He didn't notice Ward tense up though. "How are you doing, son?" he asked, smiling.

"Tired. Restless. Ready to get out of here." Ward responded, trying his best not to slug Garrett in the face.

"Figures. You were never the type to be cooped-up." Garrett replied. He looked over to Simmons, "When will he be out of here anyways?" he asked.

"Depends." Simmons stated. "At the least another week. He's still weak and the atrophy in his muscles needs to be dealt with before he's out of here. Recovering from a coma is one thing, a month-long coma is a whole other level. I expect rehab to be several, intense weeks to get him back up to field mission par." she explained.

Garrett looked back to Ward, "Nothing you can't handle, right?" he joked.

Ward looked down, "Not like you care." he muttered. Garrett didn't hear him to his luck.

Garrett came closer and slapped Ward on the back, causing him to flinch, "I know you can." he laughed and then left the room.

Ward took a shaky breath and looked back to Simmons, "Well?"  
"I'll get the rehab agents in here soon to try and get you to walk around some more. You'll have to use crutches though. Hopefully you'll do well enough to the point where you can take a good shower and clean up."

"That's what I wanted to hear!" Skye laughed.

Ward glared at Skye and she kept quiet.

Simmons blinked, "Well, I'll leave you two alone. I imagine that Coulson will probably be in here sooner or later, knowing him." she said, leaving the room.

Everything still felt weird to Ward though. It felt like an eternity since he had been treated like a good friend by the team, even if the hell he went through was just a dream. But he couldn't shake the feeling that it was actually something way more than a coma-induced dream. It just felt way too real to be all made-up in his head.

He still found the little things strange as well. Like the fact that Skye didn't have bangs or there weren't scars on his wrist or forehead. Everything that he had grown used to for what seemed like over a year was gone. The hell that he had been trapped in erased.

But he still felt like it was a warning, something calling out to him to change that one decision that had pulled him straight down into hell. But he didn't know whether any of it was true or not.

Was Hydra really to rise? But when would that be? He had no clue. He settled back down into the bed, ignoring Skye, who was still in the room.

His head was starting to hurt from trying to comprehend everything that was going on. And he was scared of what was really going on.

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So, Skye notices that Ward's acting different around the team since he woke up and he tries to downplay it. And he's still trying to piece together everything that had happened. So he still has no clue about the 'dream'. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	3. Chapter 3 (What If I Let You In?)

**Chapter Three (What If I Let You In?)**

(Three Days Later)

"Watch out, Energizer." Skye laughed, watching Ward struggling to get across the room on crutches. "You need to slow down sooner or later, you're going to hurt yourself."

"But I won't be back up and going as soon as I could be if I do that." Ward shot back, going back and sitting on the edge of his hospital bed. "Don't want to be stuck in here forever."

"I don't think Simmons would recommend you up this much." Skye stated. "You're still weak, still recovering. I don't think that you've got the strength to be up this much. Take it easy, Turbo."

Ward rolled his eyes and got fully back into the bed after sitting his crutches aside, "Whatever." he mumbled. "I just don't want to be in here forever."

"Simmons said that you'll probably be out of here by next week." Skye replied. "Just hold on, you don't have to be constantly moving."

"That's not what I meant." Ward muttered underneath his breath.

He was still hiding the whole 'dream' experience from Skye, and from everyone. He still wasn't quite sure what was going on with the whole thing, and not sure if Hydra was really going to rise or not.

But if they were really going to, it would be soon. And Ward feared within the next few days. He knew that either no one would believe him if he told Coulson or that it was just too late to do anything.

And besides, he was technically injured, handicapped. There was nothing he could really do. Was there?

"Grant, you're staring off into space again." Skye said, breaking his train of thought.

Ward blinked and looked over to Skye, "Huh, what?" he asked.

"You were staring off into space. Again." Skye said flatly. "For like the millionth time in the past two days."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?" Ward asked, smiling slightly. "It might've been a few times, but not that much."

"It's been a whole lot of times. What are you thinking about that much?" she asked. She lowered her voice, "Is it something dirty?"

Ward's eyes widened and his face became flushed, "Ah, w-what?! N-No!" he exclaimed, stammering. "What would make you think that?"

"Then if it isn't that, what is it?" Skye asked. "I'm going to make you talk sooner or later."

"You're not going to believe any of it." he said, looking down.

Skye frowned, "What do you mean?" she asked, getting up from her chair and sitting down beside Ward on the bed. "What is there for me not to believe?"

Ward shook his head, looking Skye in the eyes, "Nothing, Skye. Just still trying to comprehend the fact that I was comatose for a month. That's all."

Skye narrowed her eyes, "Grant, you're skirting around the answer. There's something else that's bothering you other than that." she said, scooting slightly over as Ward sat up in the bed. "You can tell me."

Ward held his breath and looked away, "You won't like any of it, Skye. And I'm not sure whether any of it is real or not."

"What do you mean?"  
Ward looked Skye in the eyes, "Skye, I am not a good man." he said.

Skye blinked and her face fell. She reached out and touched Ward's face, which was now clean-shaven, "Grant, what do you mean?" she asked. "You _are _a good man, I don't understand what you're going towards."

He took Skye's hand, "Skye, you would _hate _me if I told you." he said, voice low. "And I don't even know how to begin to explain anything."

"Explain what, Grant?" Skye asked. "You're not making any sense."

"I believe I'm being given a second chance."

"A second chance at _what_? What did you do?"

"Skye, I-" Ward began, but he was cut off.

And that's when the lights went and emergency lights started flashing. Shouts and gunfire filled the air.

The end was here.

* * *

(A Little While Ago, The Bus)

"Is Skye still in Ward's room?" Coulson asked, looking at May who stood on the other side of his desk.

"What do you think?" May retorted. "She's pretty much been in there since he first fell into that coma. I think she was helping him try to move around earlier."

Coulson nodded, "Shouldn't have even asked. Where's everyone else?"

"Fitz is working on something in the lab. Simmons is with him, of course. Triplett as well. And I believe Garrett is in the Hub. Well, we're all in the Hub. This is only the plane area." May explained.

"How is Ward coming along anyways?" Coulson asked.

May shrugged, "I think pretty good. Simmons is surprised that he's actually up and walking around as much as he actually is." she responded. "So yes, he's doing pretty well."

"Hell, I didn't even think that he would even survive that whole thing. The med agents made it seem that he would die. I thought that we would be burying him by now." Coulson sighed, getting up from his desk. "Didn't think that he would wake up."

"Miracles happen." May said.

Just then, Fitz and Triplett appeared in the room, frantic looks on their faces.

Coulson frowned and looked towards the two agents, "Fitz. Triplett. What's the matter?" he asked. "Is there a problem? Is it Ward?"

Triplett shook his head, "No, sir, it's not Ward. I-I don't even know. You just need to come downstairs and see." he stammered.

Coulson looked at May and then they followed Trip and Fitz downstairs to the lab, where Simmons was standing looking at the screen in horror at something that lit up the screen.

"What the hell is going on?" Coulson asked. He looked towards the screen, which confused him. Various numbers and letters were spinning around on the screen. He looked back to Fitz, "Where the hell did this come from?" he asked.

Fitz shook his head, "I-I don't know, sir." he stammered. "It just showed up as I was working on something. I have no damn clue to where it came from. It's like something hacked into our signal or something."

Coulson gulped and the five agents watched as the message continued to spin out, forming into a cryptic message. One that would basically stop time and the world for a while.

'_Out of the shadows, into the light. Hydra.'_

Coulson's face fell, and he looked to the other agents, the same exact expression of fear etched onto theirs.

"H-Hydra?" Fitz stammered.

"I thought they were dead." Simmons said, her voice broken.

Coulson gulped, "I-I guess not." he stammered. "H-Hydra? H-How? We're dead."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Yes, I'm diving straight into the Uprising really fast, but it'll last several chapters. And I'm changing stuff to fit the story, like how the message was revealed. But it'll all work. (And should I stop after the Uprising, or go all the way somehow to San Juan?) Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	4. Chapter 4 (What If I Make it Right?)

**Chapter Four (What If I Make it Right?)**

Skye looked at Ward in fear as the lights continued to flash and more gunshots rang out. She ran over to the door, finding it locked. She looked back to him, "Grant, what's going on? The door's locked. I can't open it." she said, fear in her voice.

"The base in under attack." he replied. "The doors are designed to lock down in order to try and trap whoever's attacking. Makes it worse for those still inside. We're like sitting ducks, but we may be safe for a while."

Skye backed away from the door and went back to Ward, "What's going on, Grant?" she asked. "Who's attacking?"

Ward gulped and looked down, "I thought it was just a dream." he muttered. "I didn't think that Hydra would attack."

Skye frowned, "What?" she asked.

"Hydra." was all Ward said.

"Hydra? As in the Nazi group that _Captain America _fought?" Skye asked. "I thought that they were long gone."

Ward shook his head, "No, they weren't." he said quietly. "They were always inside of SHIELD, waiting for the right time to come back up."

"And how the hell do you know this?"

Ward looked Skye straight in the eyes, "Skye, I'm not going to lie to you. I did that once before and it ended horribly for me. And you'll probably hate me." he said.

"Grant, what the hell do you mean?" Skye asked.

Ward took a breath, "Garrett and I, we're… We're technically Hydra."

Skye's face fell, "What?!" she exclaimed. "Why the hell are you telling me this now?!" She backed away from him, "You're one of those killers?!"

"Skye, please listen to me. Me telling you this now is way better than what originally happens."

"_Originally happens_?" Skye asked with disgust. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Skye, when I was comatose, I had this dream that seemed to last over a year. No, it wasn't a dream. It was a vision of what is to come, or was, resulting from my actions." Ward explained. "It's made me change everything."

"Instead of you being a Hydra bastard?"

"Skye, I betrayed you. I killed Hand. I kidnapped you. I ejected Fitzsimmons out of the damn plane in the med pod. They sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Fitz was knocked into a coma for several weeks and was left with brain damage."

Skye blinked, not believing what Ward was saying, "What?" she asked, voice breaking. "W-Why would you do any of that?"

"Skye, I thought for a long time that I owed Garrett _everything. _Thought that he saved me, didn't see that he really pulled me down into a deeper hell than I was in. Didn't see the heartless bastard that he really is." Ward explained. "You don't understand what he did to me."  
"What did he do?"

"I never told you this, but I was in juvie for a while when I was younger. Tried to burn down my home not knowing that my older brother was inside. Garrett got me out of that prison, only to throw me into the woods for five years as part as 'training' to get me into SHIELD.

But by then I was delusional with the thought that he was my savior or something. Again, I thought I owed him everything. Even got me into Hydra without me knowing what it really was. But it was always a means to an end. Only allied ourselves with them to save his life, he was dying.

What happened to me in that vision, I never imagined that it would happen." He looked Skye in the eyes, "But I believe I'm being given a second chance, to try and make everything right."

"W-What happened to you in that vision?" Skye asked, kind of afraid that Ward would do something to her.

"Coulson was made Director of SHIELD. In his new base of operations, I was locked away in the basement and treated like an animal. Only interaction I got was the guards that brought me my food and you every now and then. And that's only because Coulson made you to get information from me and you were the only one that I would talk to.

Eventually, Coulson basically sold me out to my senator brother and sent me to my death. I luckily escaped and then was a fugitive. I then kidnapped you to take you to your father, you shot me three times and left me for dead. Nothing of importance happens to me after that." he explained.

Skye didn't know what to say, "T-This is true?" she stammered.

Ward nodded, "I think so." he replied. "That's why I'm trying to change it now. Skye, I will not hurt you or let anyone hurt you. I swear my life on it. I'm making the declaration now, I am _not _Hydra. My loyalties lie with you and with SHIELD. I will not turn my back on anyone. Only Garrett. I rather see him dead right now."

Skye came closer to Ward again and sat on the edge of the bed, looking him in the eyes, "And you're not lying?"

Ward nodded, taking Skye's hand, "I will not hurt you, never. I swear on that." He gulped, "Please tell me that this doesn't hurt anything. Me telling you this now is way better than what was to come. Better now than stabbing you in the back."

Skye took a breath and put her hand on the side of Ward's face, "Grant, honestly, I _am _mad at you and I don't know what to think. But I am glad that you told me now. 'Cause if what you said was going to be true, this is way better than any of that. As long as you don't hurt anyone and you keep your promise."

Ward nodded, "I will, Skye. I promise."

Skye nodded, "Please keep that. And make sure that we both get out of this alive."

Ward smiled half-heartedly, "Skye, I don't know how well I could do that." he said, gesturing to his legs. "Still can't walk that well. There's a gun in the side table, but I don't know how much use I would be."

"I'll take it."

"Do you still say 'bang' when pulling the trigger?" he asked.

Skye smiled, "I don't think so." she said, reaching inside of the side table and pulling out the gun.

Ward nodded, "I wish you could've seen how you were in that future." he said. "Fierce, tough, a great fighter. Made me proud as your ex-SO."

"Well, I _did _have a great SO." Skye said.

Ward looked down, "I know that you're taking this surprisingly well, but I don't know how the others will react."

"Grant, trust me, I'm going to chew you out once this is all over." Skye replied. "Now isn't the time to. But we're both going to get out of this alive." She leaned in and gave Ward a heart-felt kiss. "I hope to see you later." she said after it was over.

Ward smiled, "You too."

But then banging sounded at the door. Someone was trying to knock it down. "Son, what the hell are you doing in there?!" a voice exclaimed. "Stop goofing around! You're not that crippled!"

Ward's faced turned stark-white as Skye turned to look at him. She knew who exactly was on the other side of that door, waiting to get at Ward. To try and drag him into the mess that he had just turned away from.

Garrett.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So, Ward explains all that he can to Skye and she actually is glad that he decided to tell her now than stab them in the backs. But Garrett's here, and he's not happy. (And I've actually decided to go all the way to San Juan. That's a whole other arc, which should be good. But those who have read my recent fics should know what will probably happen with Ward.) Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	5. Chapter 5 (What If I Give It Up?)

**Chapter Five (What If I Give It Up?)**

"Grant! I know you're still in there! Get the hell up and let's get going!" Garrett yelled from the other side of the door. "You are not that crippled!"

Ward gulped and looked to Skye, "Skye, take the gun and hide under the bed." he said quietly. "Please. I'll give you a signal. Or just try to do something when you think that the time is right. I'll try to deal with Garrett's ass the best I can."

"Grant, but," Skye began, taking Ward's hand.

"No buts, Skye. You'll be safer this way."

Skye hesitated and nodded, "Grant, I hope that you know what you're doing." she said, getting to her knees and making her way underneath the bed, just out of view.

"I don't think that I do." Ward mumbled.

Garrett pounded on the door again, "Grant, open the hell up!" he yelled. "You don't want me coming in there myself!"

Ward stayed silent and held his breath. He wasn't going to open that door up for that bastard.

After a couple of seconds, there was a beeping noise at the door. Ward froze up, Garrett was deactivating the automatic lock on the door. The door swung open, revealing a very pissed-off looking Garrett. He charged into the room.

"Why aren't you coming?" he asked angrily.

"One, I can't walk that well, John." Ward said, gesturing to his legs and the crutches that laid up against the wall beside his bed. "Two, I'm not going with you."

Garrett's face fell and he slowly approached Ward, "What the hell was that?" he hissed. "What did you just say to me?"

Ward looked Garrett firmly in the eyes, "I'm not going with you." he stated coldly. "I don't listen to you anymore."

A muscle twitched in the older man's face, "What was that?" he asked lowly. "I am your SO, you follow my orders. Now, get up. We are going."

"I'm not following you or Hydra anymore, John. That isn't me anymore." Ward replied.

"What the hell are you smoking?" Garrett growled. "Your loyalties lie with me. Do you not remember what I've done for you?"

"All you did for me was pull me down into a hell greater than what I was in. John, I had an awakening. I finally saw what the hell I was doing. Saw what consequences that my actions would have. Nothing is worth that. I'm throwing away whatever twisted loyalty I had for you."

Garrett snarled, "Then who the hell are you loyal to? That _girl_?" he asked, anger all in his voice.

Ward gulped, "Yes, but not just her. Her _and _SHIELD. Not you and Hydra." he replied. "Definitely not you."

Garrett stepped back a bit and quickly ran his hands through his hair in anger, "What the hell has gotten into you, _boy_?" he hissed.

"I am not you boy. I'm not your anything. I am my own person." Ward stated coldly.

Garrett's upper-lip twitched and he went to approach Ward again, but he noticed movement on the floor. Smiling just a bit, he brought his boot down onto what was moving. A grunt of pain sounded out. He bent down and peeled Skye off of the floor, ripping the gun out of her grasp and throwing it aside.

He threw her into the chair, "And what the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked, glaring at her. "Because this is strictly between me and Ward here. This doesn't involve you."

Skye gripped her wrist, she figured that it was probably broken, "I don't care what you have to say." she spat. "Just leave Grant the hell alone."

"You and your damn boyfriend." Garrett growled.

"We're not," Skye began.

"Stop with that facade, everyone sees it. The way that you two oogle at each other. That's love." Garrett stated harshly. "And it's made my boy here weak and pathetic."

"I'm not yours!" Ward screamed. "I don't belong to you!"

Garrett spun around and stalked towards Ward and grabbed him by the collar, "Say that again." he hissed, right in his face.

"I'm, I'm not taking orders from you. So get the hell away from me." Ward spat.

Garrett snarled and threw him to the ground, Ward landing with a groan. Skye stood up, but knew that she couldn't do anything with a broken wrist.

"And what are you going to do with your disabled self?!" Garrett growled. "You can't do anything from the ground. You _are _coming with me. No questions about it."

"I'm not." Ward croaked out from the cold tile.

Skye's eyes drifted over to Ward's crutches near her. If she could just get to the crutches.

Garrett loomed over Ward, "If you don't get up now, I'll kill you. And I won't hesitate to do so."

Ward started to scoot away the best he could, "I am not loyal to you anymore." he repeated. "You can leave me the hell alone."

"You've done it now boy." Garrett hissed, reaching for his own gun. "You've really done it. Now-" He dropped his gun as a sharp, blinding pain sliced through his head and he fell to the ground.

Ward looked up to see Skye wielding one of his crutches like a baseball bat.

"A crutch to the temple should keep the bastard down. Grant, get the gun. It's right behind you." she said. "Now."

Ward reached out blindly behind him, feeling the cold metal of the gun. He brought it in front of him, only to see Garrett crawling towards him, his own gun drawn out again.

Ward started to back up again, gun trembling in his hands as Garrett threw himself on top of the fallen man, digging his gun into the man's side.

"I won't lose today of all days!" Garrett screamed.

Ward started to kick at Garrett, his gun pointed wildly towards Garrett.

Skye couldn't tell what was happening. She was about to swing the crutch back into Garrett's head when a loud sound boomed out, startling her. She screamed and dropped the crutch, it clattered to the ground.

A shot had been fired, a bullet had ripped through the air and through skin. A body had fallen.

Fresh blood pooled on the cold tile.

* * *

(Elsewhere)

"Where the hell is Skye?!" Coulson demanded, racing down the hallway of the Hub along with May. They were trying their best to twist down the hallways with Hydra storming along. They had gotten Fitzsimmons to safety, Triplett watching out over them.

"She should be in Ward's room." May tried to explain. "The door should've locked once the base went into lockdown. They should still be in there. Hydra couldn't of had gotten to them yet."

They approached the infirmary area with blinding speed, trying to find the two agents. They slowed down as they got closer to where Ward's room was located at.

"Mel, make sure you have your gun." Coulson said quietly, gripping his own gun tightly.

"What makes you think that I don't have it in a situation like this?" May asked. "I always have it."

"Good. Approach the room slowly, make sure that the door is still locked and closed. We'll take it from there." Coulson ordered. "I don't want to lose anyone today."  
May nodded and they went slowly towards where Ward's room was at, but they froze halfway through going.

A shot had rang out, and it had come from Ward's room.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. I'm going to leave it at that cliffhanger after Ward gives Garrett a piece of his mind. But going to leave you there to figure out who got shot. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! (Please review guys! It really helps!) ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	6. Chapter 6 (Can We Start Again?)

**Chapter Six (Can We Start Again?)**

Ward let the gun fall to the ground with a loud clang as Garrett fell limp onto his legs, warm blood oozing out from the bullet wound in his chest. He began to shake as he started to realize what had just happened.

Garrett was dead, by his hand. Grief started to pour onto him. Why did he feel like this? Garrett was a heartless bastard that really didn't care for him. Why did he feel like this?

He shoved the lifeless body off of him and quickly scooted away, trying to forget what happened. He buried his face in his hands.

"Grant?" Skye asked, walking over and holding her broken wrist. "Are you okay?"

"I killed him…" Ward muttered. "He's dead… And it's my fault."

Skye crouched down beside him, "Grant, he was trying to hurt you. And he hurt me. And he's, or was, Hydra. It doesn't matter if he's dead. All that matters is that we're safe."

Ward looked up to her, his grief-filled eyes resting on hers, "Skye, you don't understand." he stated. "For half of my life, I thought he was the good guy and that he was my savior. And for me to wake up from that coma and to experience that hellish future, realizing what he really did to me… I still don't understand.

And now he's dead, after trying to kill me. I killed him. No one is going to understand except you. How am I even going to explain why he's dead, let alone that future I experienced?" he asked.

Skye took a breath and took Ward's hand, "They'll understand." she said quietly. "It might take a bit though."

And as if on cue, Coulson's voice cut through the quiet.

"What the hell happened here?!" he exclaimed.

Ward and Skye looked to see Coulson and May standing in the doorway, staring in horror at the bloody scene. Garrett's dead, bloodied body lay askew on the cold tile, blood surrounding it. Coulson's eyes drifted to the blood staining Ward's pants and hands.

"Grant, what the hell happened here?" he asked.

Ward shook his head and looked down, not wanting to say anything. He was still too distraught.

"Skye?"

Skye gulped and stood up, "Garrett, he was Hydra. Came in here and tried to kill Grant. Broke my wrist. There was a fight on the ground and Grant shot and killed him. We, we would be dead right now."

"Garrett was Hydra?!" May explained.

"I-I was too…" Ward muttered.

Coulson's face turned stark-white and he looked to Ward who was still on the ground, "What did you just say?" he asked coldly.

Ward looked up to the older agent with pain in his eyes, "I was Hydra." he repeated.

"Was?" May asked, reaching for her gun.

"Not anymore. I denounced that alliance. I don't follow them anymore."

Coulson frowned, "What made you change?" he asked.

"You wouldn't believe it." Ward said, staring at the blood staining his hands. "It still doesn't make much sense to me."

"Tell me."

Skye shook her head, "Coulson, sir, now really isn't the time for Ward to explain everything. He's telling the truth, I've been here the entire time. He's not Hydra anymore. We need to get out of here first before actual Hydra agents find us and kill us. Is there a way that we can get to the Bus?"

May frowned, "Are you sure that he's telling the truth?" she asked.

"May, I promise that I'm telling the truth. I am not Hydra. I do not intend to hurt anyone." Ward said. "I'm not that person anymore. I will tell you what happened once we're in safety, I promise."

Coulson hesitated, but knew that Ward's words were sincere. He wasn't going to hurt them. Hell, the man couldn't even stand up on his own. Coulson nodded and walked over to Ward, holding a hand out to the man.

"You better have a good explanation to all of this." he said as Ward took his hand and he helped pull him up.

"Don't worry sir, I do. I just hope that you believe it. It's kind of crazy." Ward replied taking his crutches from Skye.

"Well, I don't have time for crazy right now." Coulson responded. "We've got to get to the Bus and get the hell out of here."

"Wait, where's Fitzsimmons and Trip?" Skye asked.

"Back in the storage area of the Bus." May replied. "THey should be good long enough for us to get back to the Bus."

Coulson looked at the crutch-confined Ward, "How fast can you go on those things?" he asked. "We've got to go as fast as possible."

"I can try." Ward responded. "I don't think that a wheelchair is the best option in this case. Besides, Skye will probably run me into the wall anyways."

"I will not!" Skye exclaimed.

"Don't start this now." Coulson stated harshly, reaching for his gun. "There isn't time for bickering. We'll manage. Get going."

* * *

(Sometime Later)

Ward and Skye collapsed onto the floor of the cargo bay as the cargo door started coming up. May rushed up the stairs and quickly got the Bus going. They were in the air and away from the Hub as fast as Hydra had hit.

Coulson looked at the two, "We're safe." he said. "Skye, go find Fitzsimmons and Triplett and tell them to come out. It's just us."

Skye nodded and rushed up the stairs.

Coulson looked back at Ward, who still sat on the ground trying to catch his breath, "Are you okay?" he asked.

Ward looked up at him with a slight smile, "My arms are going to be as sore as hell for a while." he said. "But not bad."

The group had rushed through the hallways of the Hub back towards the air hangar, trying to avoid Hydra agents as best as they could. There were a few scuffles, but nothing too serious.

"Ward, you know you have some serious explaining to do. I do believe you when you say that your loyalties lies strictly with us, but I still need an explanation to why." Coulson continued.

Ward sighed, "Sir, I promise that I will. Only if I could get up those stairs." he said.

Coulson took a breath and helped Ward up again, "Hopefully we can get your legs working as soon as possible, I feel like we have a long road in front of us." he sighed.

"Tell me about it." Ward grumbled, wincing as the older agent helped up walk up the spiral staircase. Once they were in the lounge area, Ward managed to get over to the couch and sat down beside Skye who was already there. Fitzsimmons and Trip stood there, staring at horror at the blood staining Ward.

"Before any of you say anything, it's not my blood." Ward stated. "It's Garrett's. He's dead. He was Hydra and I shot and killed him because he was trying to kill me and Skye."

"He was Hydra?!" Triplett exclaimed, his face fallen, "What the hell?! He was my SO! Why didn't I know this?!"

"Neither did I and we were close friends." Coulson stated. He looked firmly at Ward, "And I believe you owe us an explanation. One to why I shouldn't have you locked up."

Fitz frowned, "Locked up?" he asked. "What the hell is going on?"

"Yeah," Simmons agreed. "What's going on?"

Ward took a breath and began his explanation, "First of all, I was Hydra…"

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So Ward begins his explanation of everything. Will they believe it? And this part is coming to a close soon and part two (the Inhumans part) will start up soon. Any suggestions of what you want to see in it? Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	7. Chapter 7 (I Can Make it Right)

**Chapter Seven (I Can Make It Right)**

"Hydra?" Fitz asked. "As in the bloody fool that just tried to kill us? You're one of them?! Then why the hell are you still here?!" A disgusted looked formed on the young engineer's face.

Ward gulped, "Fitz, please, let me explain." he said in a soft voice.

"Why should we let you explain?!" Fitz exclaimed. "You're one of those murderous traitors. Again, why the hell are you still here?"

"Fitz, let him say something." Simmons said. "If Coulson still has him here, then there's a pretty good reason to why."

"Fine." Fitz stated coldly, glaring at Ward.

Coulson nodded, "Ward, can you please explain this?" he asked.

Ward nodded slowly, "Like I said, I _was _Hydra, but not now." he began. "I realized the position that I was in would lead me down a dark path that I couldn't return from. And what Garrett did to me, did no help for me.

And what I'm about to say isn't going to make any sense to you, except Skye." he continued. "But it's why I changed my mind and stayed here."

"What?" Triplett asked.

"When I was comatose for a month, I had a dream. The reason why I was so confused when I woke up was because that dream lasted over an year to me. And it was showing me the future, what would occur if I chose Garrett over you guys. And it was nothing good."

"The future?" Simmons asked, not believing it. "Doesn't seem likely."

"What happened in this 'future'?" May questioned.

"Believe it or not, Coulson was the new Director of SHIELD. In the new base he had, I was locked up in the basement like an animal, hardly ever getting any interaction. Only from Skye, and that was just because it was for information. But it did make sense to be payment for what I did." Ward explained.

"What did you do?" Coulson asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I killed Hand. I kidnapped Skye. I ejected Fitzsimmons out of the damn plane. And Fitz was knocked into a coma for several weeks, leaving him with brain damage. You have no idea the guilt I felt from that."

Both Fitz and Simmons' faces fell, realizing that there was no way that Ward was making any of this up.

"While locked up, I tried to kill myself three times and it got me nowhere. Eventually, Coulson sold me out to my senator brother and sent me to my death. I escaped though. But I eventually came back for Skye, to take her to her father. To fulfill a promise I made. She ended up shooting me three times in the side and left me for dead. I survived though." Ward trailed off and didn't say anything else to them.

"Anything else?" May asked, still trying to take the story in.

Ward looked down and shook his head, "No, not much. But soon after I woke up, I knew that the dream was real. I knew that, for some reason, I was being given a second chance at everything.

I wouldn't tried to stop the Hydra Uprising, but by the time I had everything figured out it was too late to say anything. I thought denying Garrett would change everything. I thought that making my true loyalties lie with the this team would change everything."

"So was everything you had with us a lie?" Triplett asked. "Why were you here?"

"Originally, yes." Ward replied. "Everything was a lie. I was only here to figure out how the hell Coulson survived, so a way for Garrett to keep living could be found. But I didn't expect friendships to form." He looked to Fitz as he said that. "And I did think that, I didn't think that…." he trailed off.

Skye frowned, "You didn't think that what?" she asked.

Ward looked Skye firmly in her eyes, "I didn't think that I would fall in love." he said softly.

Skye's face fell softly and a small smile formed, "And I'd never thought that you would say that word." she said in disbelief.

"It's true." Ward said. He looked back to the rest of the team, "But whatever the hell that was that I saw, It's made me change everything. I'm not Garrett's lap dog, I'm not Hydra. I'm none of that. I don't intend to hurt anyone on this team, I won't let myself go down that path again.

Coulson, If you want to know where my loyalties lie, they're right here." he continued. "I'm not going to stab any of you in the back. I'm staying right here, only if you let me though. I was given that second chance and I took it, I just hope that it worked in the end."

Coulson took a breath and looked to the rest of the team. He already knew that Skye wanted him to stay, but the others were another story. Honestly, Coulson did believe that Ward's loyalties were now with the team and what was left of SHIELD. But what were the others to say?

"I'm fine with it." Coulson finally said. "But Ward, we'll watch you for a while just to make sure. And you can't go anywhere in your condition anyways."

May nodded, "I'm with Coulson."

Triplett sighed, "As long as you don't hurt anyone, dude. I'm fine with it. And besides, I don't think that you will."  
"We're fine." Fitzsimmons said at the same time.

Coulson nodded and looked back to Ward, "Well, Grant, I guess you're fine. Like I said, we'll watch you for a while. But what the hell is there to do now?" he asked. "SHIELD's most likely gone. There's nowhere to turn. Hell, we'll probably be branded as traitors and criminals. We don't have anywhere to go." He turned around and started to walk off, "This is the beginning of a long road to hell."

May looked at them, "I'll go with him." she said, following after the distraught agent.

Fitzsimmons soon left with Triplett and went to the lab, since they were uncomfortable with being around Ward right now. But in time that discomfort would change.

Skye looked to Ward and smiled, "Looks like you got that second chance that you wanted." she said. "You're still here and not locked up in some kind of jail cell. Whatever darkness you fell to in that future, hopefully its gone and it won't come back."

Ward gave her a half-hearted smile, "God, I hope so." he said. "Skye, you don't know how much this means to me. The whole time in that dream, one of my main thoughts was trying to get back with the team, even though it wouldn't ever happen then. And not this team."

"What do you mean 'not this team'?" Skye asked frowning.

"There were two other agents with you guys. And Triplett, he, he was gone." Ward replied.

"What do you mean?"

"He died. I don't remember how though. But he did. Hopefully what I did will keep him alive." Ward explained. "I just want things to stay like this. I don't want them to ever change."

Skye smiled and scooted closer to Ward and rested her head on his shoulder, "Grant, I don't know about that." she said. "We're probably fugitives by now and there's no SHIELD left to go back to. But if you just mean this team, then it'll probably stay the same no matter what now." she said.

Ward smiled, "Hopefully you're right."

"Now, something I've been meaning to ask you." Skye stated. "

"What?"

"My father. You said that in that future you took me to my father. He's alive?"

Ward nodded, "You wouldn't like him though, he's pretty much a psychopath." he replied.

"But he's alive?"

"Yes."

"Please, tell me about him, Grant."

The two continued to talk, thinking that how everything was now was what was meant to be. But there were darker things to come to not just them, but the entire team.

Sometimes you can change things, but you are destined for a certain fate that you can't avoid.

Somethings are just mean to be.

* * *

_**End of Part One**_

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So it seems that Ward's second chance has worked and he's staying with the team. But this is only the end of part one and there are darker things to come. Part two will be a several month jump and will pick up around the time Cal comes in. This is where everything starts going to hell. Ward tries to change more things, but only finds that somethings can't be changed and even worse things happen when you try. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! (Can we make it to 44/45?) ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	8. Chapter 8 (Angels Fall)

**Chapter Eight (Angels Fall)**

* * *

**_Start of Part Two_**

* * *

(Several Months Later)

Skye looked over to Ward, who sat on the couch next to her reading a book, "Grant, I want to ask you a question." she said.

Ward blinked and folded the page's edge and closed the book he was reading, "What, Skye?" he asked.

"I was, uh, wondering if you could take me to my father." she replied.

Ward's face fell and he shook his head, "Skye, are you sure that that's a good idea?" he asked. "With dealing with Hydra and Whitehall right now, it's not best that we, um, go off somewhere on our own thing."

Skye frowned, noticing that Ward was finicky with the subject, but she didn't say anything about it. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Skye, I'm sure that we'll get to it eventually." Ward stated. "But like I said, now really isn't the best time to be going off on our own. Your father can wait, if he's still alive."  
"But you said he was alive, you took me to him in that future." Skye said.

Ward shook his head, "_That _future though." he responded. "I changed that future, Skye. Whatever happened in it isn't what is going to exactly happen. Things are changed. I'm not even sure what it's done to the whole situation with your father. I don't know.

He may be looking for you still, or he may be dead. I don't know." he continued. "Skye, now I'm not sure of what is to come anymore."

Ward was still afraid though. He didn't know his second chance several months ago would change the whole San Juan situation. But he felt that that was something that couldn't be changed. That whole thing was always about 'Skye's destiny'. He may had been able to change his destiny, but he knew that there was no way to change what would happen to her.

And if he was even to try, something would probably end up happening to him. He just wanted to avoid all of it at all costs, but he knew that it would end up being envitiable.

"Skye, I'm saying that it'll happen eventually, just not now." Ward continued. "Hell, I'm still surprised that we have a break like this. Still weird that Hydra isn't doing any weird crap right now that Coulson wants us to rush into battle to break up."

Skye punched him playfully in the arm, "Grant, don't jinx us!" she exclaimed. "Don't say that!"

Ward stared at her, "I don't think that jinxs are real." he said flatly.

"Says the man that saw into the future in a coma-induced dream. You're just contradicting yourself."

"Touche." Ward grumbled. "But I think we'll be fine."

"Oi, Coulson wants you." a British voice piped up.

"Dammit, Grant! I told you you jinxed us!" Skye exclaimed, looking over to see Lance Hunter coming into the room.

"What the bloody hell did I miss? Jinxes? What are you even talking about?" Hunter asked. "Do I even want to know?"

"He said that it was weird that Coulson didn't have us rushing into a mission or anything to stop any Hydra crap right now. Just to show you that he can't sit still." Skye explained.

"Hey, I was reading a book." Ward protested. "I was clearly sitting still. I just found it weird."

Hunter narrowed his eyes, "Well, okay then." he mumbled. "But I don't think that you've jinxed anything. There's no mission as far as I know. Coulson just wants to see the two of you for some God forsaken reason."

Ward sighed and got up, picking up his book, "Fine then." he muttered. "And I was enjoying piece and quiet, now we've got to face the wrath of the Director. Great."

Skye rolled her eyes as she stood up, "What wrath?" she asked. "It's Coulson of all people. I don't know what wrath you're talking about."

"I was joking."  
"You don't have a sense of humor then." Hunter commented, smiling at him. "You don't have one at all."

Ward frowned, "Don't start with me, Hunter." he shot back. "I really don't feel like it today."

Hunter held up his hands, "Whatever." he said.

Skye grabbed Ward's arm, "Come on, Grant. Before you two get into a cat fight or something." she said, pulling him away.

"We're not getting into a cat fight." Hunter shot back.

"Exactly!"

* * *

(Elsewhere)

"Look, I'm telling you, I can show you the location of the temple as long as you can let me reunite with my daughter. That's all I want. You get the temple and I get my daughter."

"And are you sure that San Juan is the location of the temple? We have the Obelisk, I don't need the location of the temple to be a complete and utter fake. What you say better be the truth."

"Oh, I assure you that it is. What do you say? The location of the temple so you can do whatever the hell you are planning to do for my daughter. I know that you can get Hydra agents to get her with ease. That Director's team is nothing."

"You seem to underestimate them. They're skilled, I give them that. Coulson has some of the best agents with him. May. Ward. Morse. They're all giving us trouble. I don't know how simple it would be to get your daughter, especially with Agent Ward constantly with her."

"He doesn't know just how special my daughter is though, once he sees what she truly is… I don't think he'll stick around her."

"Then what is your daughter?"

"Well… I can't tell you that. But she's far from human. I don't think that agent will stick around her much longer."

"Again, you're underestimating them. I don't think that man is human either. He's a demon."

* * *

(SHIELD Base, Middle of the Night)

Ward awoke with a start, covered in sweat, the remants of a fading nightmare still in his head. All he remembered was something burning and an angel falling. Was the angel on fire? He didn't remember.

He looked next to him, seeing Skye curled up in the covers next to him. He had forgotten that Skye had fallen asleep with him. He faintly remembered what Coulson wanted from the day from before.

Something about info about Hydra. Ward had been giving the Director all the information he could about the terrorist group and it had been helping. He was just trying to add more to his second chance.

With a sigh, he settled back down into the sheets, trying to forget the dream. As he settled back down, Skye moved closer to him, pressing up against his body. Ward smiled, knowing that he had it way better that what he was going through this time in the alternate timeline.

He figured that he had nothing to worry about, but something still tugged at the back of his mind. As he drifted back off into sleep with Skye at his side, the image of the falling, burning angel still played in his mind. He didn't know it's meaning, but only one thing stood out.

Even angels fall.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Part Two starts! And you can see how much better things are now, even though there is hell to come. And you know who's talking in the 'mystery' part. And what is the significance of Ward's falling, burning angel dream? Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! (Please review guys!) ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	9. Chapter 9 (With Broken Wings)

**Chapter Eight (With Broken Wings)**

(Three Days Later)

"I just want you two on this mission." Coulson stated, looking at Skye and Ward on the other side of his desk. "This should be a simple mission anyways, there's no need for a massive team for this."

Skye raised an eyebrow, "You haven't even told us what it is, sir. Why is it so simple?" she asked.

"All you have to do is do is intercept a group of people that is going to meet with Hydra to give them some information about some alien tech." Coulson explained. "Well, more act like two Hydra agents and get the info from them. The group doesn't know who they're meeting with, so it won't hurt to get there first."

Ward frowned, "What if Hydra actually gets there first?" he asked. "That won't be simple."

Coulson shook his head, "Don't worry. It's just in and out. Get the info and go. This will give us a lead to what Hydra's doing with a lot of alien tech, and why they took the Obelisk from the military warehouse." he explained further.

He handed Ward a folder, "And you'll be going by different names of course." he said.

Ward opened the folder and blinked at the names, "James and Clare?" he asked. "That's kind of plain."

"What did you want it to be, Grant?" Skye asked. "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt?"

Ward's face fell and he rolled his eyes, "Skye, don't even begin any of that." he said. "I don't really care about the names. They're just kind of plain."

"Just saying."

Coulson frowned, "Just read up on the data and go." he said. "You don't even need a pilot with this. Ward, you can fly one of the smaller jets, right?" he asked.

Ward nodded, "Yes sir." he replied.

Coulson smiled, "Good. I don't want this to be a big mission. In and out. Like I said, get the info and come back here. Don't attract attention by doing anything weird or slipping up in front of the contacts."

"Sir, why would I slip up?" Ward asked.

Coulson's eyes drifted over to Skye, "Because it's you _and _Skye. You tend to be a little bit more loose than normal when she's around." he said.

"I don't," Ward began.

Skye elbowed him, "It's because he's in love with me." she said with a smile.

Ward grumbled and looked down at his shoes, slightly blushing.

"See?" Skye asked, looking at Coulson. "I told you."

Coulson sighed and shook his head, "This is exactly the kind of stuff I'm talking about."

Skye smiled, "Don't worry, sir. We'll be fine. I promise."

* * *

(Sometime Later)

Skye stood uncomfortably by Ward in full tactical gear in a semi-rundown warehouse. She looked over to him and whispered, "Who the hell are we looking for again?" she asked.

"I don't know what they look like." Ward whispered back. "They're just a small group of mercenaries or something that sometimes do stuff for Hydra. They found the information. Remember, don't slip up."

Skye slightly smiled, "Don't worry, Agent James." she teased.

"Stop it, they're coming." Ward hissed, gesturing to a group of brutish-looking men, also in tactical gear, coming towards them. They both stood tensely as the group came towards them.

"You the Hydra agents we're 'posed to meet?" one of them asked, tall and bald-headed with a scar running down his cheek.

Ward nodded tensely, "Agents James and Clare." he said hardly. "Do you have the data?" he asked.

"You've got the payment?" the brute asked again.

"My associates will be in touch with you for that." Ward replied. "We like to check whether the information is valid or not."

The brute smiled, "Don't worry, it's valid." He dug a small, black flash drive out of his pocket and handed it over to Ward. "But we better get our payment." he said coldly.

"You will."

But just as Ward went to pocket the flash drive, the pounding sound of storming boots echoed throughout the abandoned warehouse. Ward and Skye turned to see several soldiers pour into the room. And the insignia on their uniforms stood out. Hydra. The actual Hydra.

One of them pointed towards Skye and Ward, "There!" he screamed. "The SHIELD agents! But only get the girl!"

The main brute turned to glare at Ward, "_SHIELD_?" he hissed. "I thought you were the Hydra agents!"

Ward gulped and grabbed Skye's arm, "Run, Skye!" he yelled, pulling her along.

"Shouldn't we fight?!" Skye exclaimed, trying to dodge bullets.

"No! Coulson said to keep this small!" he yelled. "I'm not going to fight! We've got to get back to the jet!"

The two continued running until a sharp, burning pain lanced through Ward's back and stomach and sent him to the ground. He grabbed at his stomach and brought back his hand seeing blood. He had been shot.

"Grant!" Skye screamed. She pulled out her own guns and turned to face the storming Hydra agents.

"Skye… Don't…" Ward huffed through the pain, it was bleeding heavy and fast. The bullet had made it through his gear. He laid on the ground trying to fumble for his own gun, but he was already growing too weak. His vision became blurred as he watched Skye run towards the Hydra agents. "Skye… Please…."

There was a sudden bright flash of light, but by this time Ward had already faded into the blackness of unconsciousness. And then there was nothing.

* * *

(Sometime Later)

Hunter, Bobbi, and Triplett ran into the warehouse as soon as they landed. Coulson had them tag behind Skye and Ward secretly just to make sure that nothing had happened. But they had lost contact with them and had to quickly land.

There was nothing there, except for one body lying on the ground in a drying pool of blood. Ward.

"Oh bloody hell!" Hunter exclaimed as they ran over.

Triplett kneeled beside Ward's body and carefully turned him over on his back, "He's been shot in the stomach. There's no clue to how long ago this happened." he said. "Hunter, you've got to help me carry him back to the jet."

"Wait, where's Skye?" Bobbi asked.

"We don't even know what happened here." Triplett replied, carefully placing his hand underneath Ward.

Ward's eyes suddenly fluttered open slightly, "Skye?" he croaked.

"Ward, it's Triplett, Morse, and Hunter." Trip replied. "We're taking you to safety. Where's Skye?"

"Hydra… Might've… Taken… Wanted her…" Ward drifted off again.

"Wait, what?" Hunter asked.

Bobbi gulped, "Hydra, they have Skye."

"Why would they have Skye? Why would they want her?" Hunter asked again.

"I don't know, but we've got to get Ward back to the base now or he's going to die." Triplett said promptly. "Skye isn't here. If Hydra has her, she's long gone by now. But if we've lost her, we don't need to lose Ward as well. He'll die if we don't get moving."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Yeah, so, I did that. But don't hate or unfollow just yet, I know what I'm doing. Everything will fall into line. It'll all work out. (And there's an Easter egg in there somewhere, can you find it?) Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! (Please review if you can! I would love for this story to get over 50 reviews with this chapter!)~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	10. Chapter 10 (Led Me to the End)

**Chapter Ten (Led Me to the End)**

(Sometime Later)

Ward woke up suddenly, gasping and coughing with a searing, unbearable pain in his stomach and back. The white lights from above burned his eyes, he tried to move his arm to block it but found an IV in his hand, restricting his movements. Everything was foggy, he tried to get up but a British shout stopped him.

"Don't do that! You'll tear the stitching!"

Ward looked over to see Simmons running into the room waving her arms in a frantic 'no' motion, "Stitching?" he asked.

"Look at your stomach." Simmons said simply.

Ward frowned and lifted up the hospital shirt he was in to see a heavy wrap of gauze wrapped around his stomach and his back, faintly tinged with fresh blood. Simmons saw his confusion.

"You were shot. A bullet managed to penetrate your tactical gear and go straight through your back and stomach. You're lucky that Trip, Bobbi, and Hunter found you when they did. You would've bled out and died. You've been out for a while now."

"How long?"

"A few hours. They found you unconscious and bloodied on the ground, no one in sight." Simmons replied.

Ward's face fell and he tried to get up, "Skye, where is she?" he asked frantically. "Where is she?"

Simmons held him down and shook her head, "Grant, don't move. You'll tear the stitches and you'll start bleeding again."

Ward gulped and settled back down, "Where is she?"

Simmons took a breath, trying to figure out how to explain it to Ward, "Hydra took her. We don't know why. They couldn't find her at the warehouse. But Hydra has her." she explained.

Ward's face fell again and he felt sick to his stomach, "It's my fault." he muttered. "I let myself get shot and couldn't protect her. I'm the reason why she's gone."

Simmons placed a hand on Ward's shoulder, "Grant, you couldn't help that you got shot. It's not your fault. We'll get her back."

"You're sure as hell we will."

Ward and Simmons looked to see Coulson and Hunter coming into the room. It was Hunter who had spoke.

Coulson nodded at Simmons, "We're good here, Jemma. Come back and check on him later." he said.

Simmons nodded and quickly left the room.

Coulson turned back towards Ward, "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like hell." Ward grumbled.

"Well, I say you're doing pretty well for a guy that was just shot through the stomach and the back just several hours ago." Hunter said, smiling slightly.

"Not helping."

"Just trying to lighten the mood."

"Why is Skye gone?" Ward asked, looking down. "Why did they take her?"

"Well, I was hoping that you would know, but it looks like you don't." Coulson replied. "We really don't know. Did Hydra happen to say anything?"

Ward sighed and frowned, "Nothing of importance, I think. There was something about 'only get the girl'. So they were just after her. Then I was shot after that, so I don't know what happened." he explained.

"Well, they were long gone when we gone there." Hunter stated. "You were lying in a bloodied heap in the middle of the warehouse almost dead. I'm surprised that you're awake like this."

Ward kept his head down and remained silent, clearly blaming himself for Skye's capture.

"We'll find her, Grant." Coulson stated. "We'll find her. Just get some more rest. Everything will be fine."

"No it won't." Ward muttered. "It won't."

* * *

(Elsewhere)

"Where the hell is that man?!"

"Uh, Whitehall, sir, we don't know. He just disappeared."

Whitehall ran his hands through his hair, looking at the young Hydra agent, "I knew we shouldn't have trusted him. But he was our only clue to the city." he spat. "And we even went through the trouble of getting his daughter for him and he takes off. That man is crazy. Where is the girl anyways?" he asked.

"In the holding cells and putting up a good fight. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if SHIELD finds her soon since she is a part of Coulson's team." the agent replied.

"Not if that Cal bastard gets here soon and we can leave for the city." Whitehall responded. "We did something for him and he's expected to do what he promised, not if he wants his precious daughter to end up like his wife."

The agent blinked, unsure of what Whitehall was saying, "Sir?" he asked.

"Cut up and dead. That girl is special just like her mother." Whitehall replied. He took a breath, "What happened to agent that was with her?" he asked. "Agent Ward."

"He was shot and left for dead." the agent replied. "But a team of SHIELD agents recovered him. We're not sure if he's dead or not."

"I'm sure he's just subdued, not dead." Whitehall stated. "That man's a demon, hard to kill. Heard that from his old SO himself. Something's not right with that agent."

The agent nodded, "Should we try to get info from the girl, sir?" he asked. "Until he comes back?"

Whitehall sighed, adjusting his glasses, "That will do for now. We'll try to do what we can until that bastard decides to show back up."

* * *

(SHIELD Base)

Ward continued to look down at the white sheet covering his legs, trying to figure out why Skye was kidnapped. Thoughts were racing through his head. He thought that he had changed things, kept bad stuff from happening. But that didn't keep Skye from being taken.

Suddenly, his mind jumped to the alternate future. His stomach lurched, the current reality was around the same time in the other timeline that he himself had taken Skye from the Bus. Coulson had called that 'Ward and Hydra taking her'.

The future timeline was still happening, just in a different way. Ward had taken her to see her father, with Hydra around.

"_Quick, Ward, think." _he thought. "_Why is this happening?"_

Things were starting to connect and started to make sense. _He _had taken Skye in the alternate timeline around this time, and now _Hydra _had taken her. _He _had taken her to her father, was it possible that Hydra had done the same thing?

"Dammit!" Ward spat, realizing that the future he was still trying to prevent was still happening, just in a different way.

It was possible that Skye's father had worked a deal with Hydra to get Skye, to get his daughter. But in return for what? What had Hydra been looking for in the other timeline?

The temple. San Juan.

This was still all about San Juan and whatever the hell that temple was. Skye was still being led towards that.

Ward gripped at his sore stomach, knowing that he was helpless in doing anything other than telling Coulson what was going on. If they would believe him.

They were still being led towards the end.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So you see what is happening here now. It all leads back to San Juan. Ward's okay and figures out what's going on by paralleling it with the alternate timeline he avoided. But things he wanted to stop from happening are still happening, but in a different way. This goes to show that somethings are set and cannot be changed, and have dire consequences if interfered with. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! (Can we make it to 55?) ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	11. Chapter 11 (Right Here in My Chains)

**Chapter Eleven (Right Here in My Chains)**

(Two Days Later)

"We still don't know where she is, Grant." Coulson said, looking at Ward who still laid in his hospital bed. "We've been tracking Hydra comms, but nothing's come up so far."

Ward looked down and didn't say anything. He wasn't sure whether to say what he had figured out. He didn't know if Coulson would believe it or not.

Coulson nodded slightly and took a breath, "I'll leave you alone." he said, turning around to leave the room. But Ward finally spoke.

"Her father." Ward said quietly.

Coulson blinked and turned back around, frowning, "Wait, what?" he asked.

Ward looked up slightly, "Her father. I think this is a longshot, but I think it's her father."

"What do you mean?"

Ward gulped, "I think right now is paralleling itself with the future that I thought that I had changed. In that future, around this time, _I _was the one to kidnap Skye, with Hydra resources, and take her to her father. Now it's Hydra taking her. I didn't know what else it could be other than that."

Coulson's face paled, "Her father? Her father is alive?" he asked. "Ward, where are they taking her? If it happens to be like how you experienced it."

Ward took a breath, "San Juan. There's something there that has to do with what she is. With the fact that she's not human."

"I don't know of anything in San Juan like that." Coulson stated.

"It was hidden underneath the city, a temple of sorts. That's where I ended up taking Skye." Ward closed his eyes, remembering the pain of the bullets that Skye had shot at him in that timeline, "Nothing but bad happened there. People died. People were changed. I was almost killed… By Skye."

Coulson's face fell and he didn't know what to say. Those words were surprising to him. That Skye almost killed him. Coulson would never imagine that Skye would do something like that. But he imagined whatever had happened in that alternate timeline was bad enough for just that to happen.

Coulson only nodded slightly before speaking again. "So… San Juan?" he asked.

Ward nodded numbly, "Yes. I would check Hydra intel and comms for anything going to San Juan and would then immediately go." he explained.

"Will do." Coulson replied. "Ward, you know this isn't a mission you can participate in. You were just shot the other day, I can't allow you to be in the field so soon. You are healing pretty well, but a field mission is a long shot for you."

Ward looked down, "I know." he said lowly. "I feel helpless."

"Grant, you just told me where Skye is most likely going to be taken." Coulson said with a caring expression. "That's not being helpless. You're doing the best you can."

Ward shifted uncomfortably, avoiding Coulson's gaze, "I know that, but I still feel like it's not enough." he muttered. "I'm still chained down and I can't get out."

* * *

(Undisclosed Location)

Skye glared down the spectacled man standing on the other side of the cell's door, shining in his perfectly-clean white suit, "What the hell am I doing here?" she growled. "Why the hell do you want with me? What the hell did you do with Grant?"

The man raised an eyebrow, "What? You mean Agent Ward? He either bled out and died or Coulson's pathetic excuses for agents got him." he replied. "Either way, they're not coming for you. You're left to us."

"Why do you want me anyways?"

"That'll come in time."

"And who the hell are you?" Skye asked.

"Daniel Whitehall. I'm surprised you don't know that since I've been the main guy Coulson's been chasing this whole entire time." he replied, smiling slightly. "I honestly don't see why that man was chosen to rebuild SHIELD. He's so clueless."

"You don't know what you are saying." Skye spat.

Whitehall smiled, "And neither are you." he said. "I don't," He stopped as a Hydra agent came up to him. "What's the matter?" he asked, pulling the agent to where Skye couldn't hear them.

"Well, it's Cal. He's not coming." the agent replied.

Whitehall's face fell, "What the hell do you mean?" he asked, irritation growing in his voice.

"He already went to the location of the temple. But he somehow sent us coordinates. It's in San Juan, Puerto Rico." the agent explained. "He just said to bring his daughter."

Whitehall sighed and looked back to Skye, who still stood angrily at the cell door. "Well, I guess that still works. And we better bring his daughter as well. I don't want to anger that man. It's like hell. Get the girl and take her, _handcuffed,_ to the jet we're leaving in. Don't let her put up a fight."

The agent nodded, "Yes, sir."

Whitehall watched as the agent went to go and retrieve Skye, "I hope this doesn't fail." he said to himself. "I will get to the temple. And this will work without trouble."

* * *

(SHIELD Bus, Over Unknown Airspace)

"Hey, cheer up." Fitz said, looking at Ward. "At least Coulson let you come with us."

Ward's face twisted up, "That's just because he wanted the whole team to come and didn't want to leave me behind." he grumbled.

It was true, Coulson had Ward moved to the medpod in the Bus so he could still come. Ward was recovering pretty well and didn't have to be on an IV or heart monitor any more. Simmons had actually let him change back into his own clothes, given that he wore a loose t-shirt so she could still get to his wound and change the gauze.

"At least you get do something." Ward continued. "I can only sit here."

"Hey, you gave us where Skye was being taken. I'd say that that's pretty big myself." Fitz replied with a smile. "Just rest. We'll find her. I think that Coulson said that the field team will be him, May, Hunter, Trip, and Bobbi. Mack, Jemma, and I'll be monitoring everything from the Holocom. You'll have to stay here though. Can you handle that?" he asked.

Ward looked to the side and crossed his arms, "I guess so. But I just don't like sitting here while Skye is somewhere out there with hell knows what happening to her. I still feel helpless."

Fitz sighed and placed a hand on Ward's shoulder, "You're not helpless, Ward. You're doing everything you can." he said with a smile before leaving Ward to himself in the medpod.

Ward looked down, "They don't understand what's about to happen." he muttered to himself. "Hell pretty much. I can't sit here while Skye's out there in danger. I don't care whether I'm hurt or not. I can't let _that _happen to her. I don't care what happens to me, whether I burn or not. I'm going out there, no matter what anyone says.

This is my fault and no one's going to burn for my mistakes. Not again. I'm going to stop this oncoming storm of hellfire."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Ward finally tells Coulson what he knows and they leave for San Juan. And so does Whitehall with Skye, since Cal decided to do something totally different. And Ward decides that he's going to find and protect Skye, even if he's hurt. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! (Can we make it to 60?) ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	12. Chapter 12 (Of These Chains)

**Chapter Twelve (Of These Chains)**

(Sometime Later)

Skye grimaced as a Hydra agent gripped her arm hard, leading her down a hallway in an old abandoned building somewhere in San Juan. Whitehall was leading them. She wanted to run, but three guards surrounded her. She was outmanned and outgunned, she couldn't fight back.

"Where the hell are you taking me anyways?" she asked, looking in Whitehall's direction. "What is the damn purpose of this?"

Whitehall responded but didn't turn around, "Simply making a deal. The location of the alien temple somewhere deep in this city for you." he replied. "That's all."

"And who the hell would want me?" she spat. "I'm just a SHIELD agent."

"You'll understand once you meet him." Whitehall said as they approached a set of large, wooden double doors. "You'll understand."

Whitehall opened the doors and ordered the Hydra agents holding Skye to throw her into the room. As Skye landed on the floor with a slight yelp of pain, Whitehall smiled.

"Enjoy your time together." he said. "While I scour this God forsaken place for that temple."

The doors closed.

"What the hell?" Skye muttered to herself, rubbing her head as she got up off of the floor. She stared at the wooden door, "At least have some damn manners."

"You're finally here." uttered voice, laced with surprise and relief.

Skye's face fell and she turned around to see an older man in a suit with crazy, brown hair that stuck up at various angles, a crazed smile on his face. She gulped, "Who the hell are you?" she asked, staying near the door as the man started to approach her.

His smile fell, "Oh, right. You probably wouldn't recognize me. The last time you saw me you were too young to remember. Taken from us from by that cursed SHIELD." he said.

Skye blinked, just who the hell was this guy? "I'm sorry, what?" she asked. "Taken from you? I don't understand."

"I'm surprised that you haven't figured it out." he said, frowning. "Since you're my daughter and all."

Skye's stomach completely bottomed- out, "D-Daughter?!" she exclaimed. "You're my father?"

He nodded, "Yes, I am you father, Cal." he replied smiling. "You were taken from us at such a young age, I knew you wouldn't remember me, Daisy."

Skye gulped, "Daisy?" she asked.

"That's the name that your mother and I gave you." he explained. "Like I said, before you were taken." He spread his hands out, "I waited so long to meet you. I'm sorry that it had to be like this. I couldn't find any other way."

Her father's words sickened her. What kind of father would have his daughter kidnapped by Hydra just to reunite with her? It made her sick.

Skye gulped and stayed in place as her father came up to her, "But you couldn't find me before now?" she asked. "And if you're my father, where is my mom?" she asked.

Cal shook his head, "Sadly, no. You were hard to track down." he replied. "Again, I'm sorry that it had to be like this. I- I can tell you about your mother, but she's no longer here. Hydra got her."

"Then why the hell are you allied with them?"

"Only because they offered to bring you to me if I told them one simple thing, and that thing is going to kill them anyways. They won't be around for much longer."

Skye blinked, not sure what he was talking about. This would be a hell of an ordeal before anyone came for her.

* * *

(A Little Bit Ago)

Ward waited until the Bus had landed for a while and everyone else had left him alone. Coulson had left with Trip, Hunter, May, and Bobbi to try and find Skye and Fitzsimmons and Mack had went upstairs to the Holocom to keep an eye on everything. They trusted him that he would stay there. But they were far from right.

He pushed himself off of the bed, wincing as the shock of his boots hitting the steel floor sent a shock of pain in his stomach. Taking a sharp breath, he made his way into the rest of the storage area, only stopping to pick up a pair of ICERs. He knew that he couldn't wear a bulletproof vest due to the heavy bandaging on his torso, so he had to be careful.

Bad thing was that the storage area led to the main area, right outside of the Holocom room. He had to somehow make it past Fitzsimmons and Mack without them seeing him. Luckily, when he looked, Fitzsimmons were in the middle of an argument about something and Mack was trying to break them up. Ward held his breath and quickly slipped through the area unseen.

He rushed down the stairs and found the ramp open, probably so the others could quickly get into the Bus when they finally found Skye. But hopefully Ward could find her before anything bad happened. Before that incident, before the earthquake.

At least he knew where just probably was at. So that was an advantage. But he had to avoid both Hydra and Coulson if he didn't want to get killed, captured, or worse, in trouble with Coulson. He knew the area though, since he had been here in that alternate timeline, so hopefully he could find Skye without incident.

Luckily, the Bus was close to the city so he could make his way into it without travelling a long distance. The wound in his stomach/back made it hard for him to move very fast since hard movement made it hurt like hell. But he endured it, knowing that if he slowed down he might not make it to Skye in time.

Ward saw that there wasn't many tourists as he made his way through the ruins. He kept his ICERs out of sight so he wouldn't attract attention to himself. He kept walking, trying to remember the building that he had brought Skye to in the other timeline. But he didn't know whether she would be brought to the same building or not, but he took his chances.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ward found the building and made his way inside. There were Hydra agents on every hall, but there was no sign of Coulson and the others. They mustn't had of found the place yet. But Hydra did.

Whatever they were looking for must be near.

Ward quietly took out the Hydra agents from a distance with the ICERs and made his way towards the hall that the room he assumed that Skye was in was located at. He hurried as fast as his injuries let him and he eventually made it to the door that led to the room.

He paused right outside of the door, hearing hushed talking inside.

"_You see, your mother was a great person."_

"_What happened to her?"_

Ward gulped, Skye. She was still alright. But as he figured, her psychotic father was in there too, so that didn't make things easier. It would be hell if he got in a fight with that man. He needed to avoid that.

He took a deep breath and put one hand on the doorknob and gripped one of his ICERs in the other. He opened the door and burst into the room, "Skye!" he exclaimed.

Skye and Cal were sitting on the couch, and had been talking. Skye stood up, her eyes growing wide, "Grant? You're alive?" she asked.

"Who the hell is this?!" Cal screamed, bolting up from the couch and stalking towards Ward. "What the hell are you doing here?"

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Sorry, short chapter. I'm pressed for time. But I might update again tonight if I get enough reviews by then. But Skye meets her father and Ward runs to save her. How will this go down? Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! (Can we make it to 65?) AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	13. Chapter 13 (Under a Falling Sky)

**Chapter Thirteen (Under a Falling Sky)**

Skye ran over to Ward embracing him in a tight hug, "I thought you were dead!" she exclaimed. "You're okay!"

Ward winced as Skye pressed up against his wound, "Uh, more or less." he said. Ward saw Cal charging towards him and he moved Skye out of the way.

"Who the hell are you?" Cal hissed. "Why are you interrupting my family reunion?"

"Family reunion?!" Skye exclaimed. "You had me kidnapped! This isn't some nice family thing! I am a hostage!"

"Shut up!" Cal screamed, glaring at Skye with a wild look in his eyes. "I won't have this ruined for me!" He approached Ward and grabbed him by the jacket collar, "Again, who the hell are you?"

"That's none of you business." Ward shot back. "I'm here to get Skye back. Take her back where she belongs. Her family, not you."

"I am her family!" Cal screamed, throwing Ward to the ground.

Ward winced as he landed on his back. He knew that the wound would open up again. "No, you're not." he huffed out. "Just because you are her blood doesn't make you her family. I should know that."

A muscle twitched in Cal's face and he sent his foot flying into Ward's stomach. Ward cried out as he felt his wound open up again and fresh blood start to come to the surface. "You can't tell me that!" he screamed, kicking him again.

Ward groaned, "Skye, please…"

Skye's eyes widened and she ran over and grabbed her father's arm, "Stop!" she screamed. "If you really are my father, stop!"

Cal turned around and glared at her, "What the hell is he to you?" he asked angrily.

Skye's eyes drifted to Ward who was on the floor clutching his stomach. She looked back to her father, "My, uh, boyfriend." she said.

Cal raised an eyebrow, "Lovers, huh?" he asked. "You know that never ends well. And he's SHIELD too, isn't he? Gives me another reason to kill him. You don't know how much it hurt when I found out that you were SHIELD. The same people that took you."

"They haven't done a single thing to me." Skye shot back. "You're the one that's being evil here."

Cal's eyes widened in anger and he would've probably attacked his daughter if it weren't for three shots that rang out. Cal cringed in pain as blue veins laced across his face and he crumpled to the ground unconscious.

Skye looked in surprise to see Ward pointing an ICER up from the ground. She ran over and helped him up. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Ward groaned and clutched at his stomach, "I've been worse." he said. "But are you okay? We need to get out of here before the ICER wears off your crazy father."

"So you saw this too?" she asked.

Ward nodded, "Remember, I was the one that brought you here in the other timeline." He winced, "Aw, dammit." he spat, lifting up his shirt.

Skye's eyes widened as she saw a heavy wrap of gauze around his torso, "Is that gauze?" she asked.

Ward nodded. "Damn, it's bleeding again." he said.

"Then why the hell are you in the field?" Skye asked. "Weren't you shot the other day?"

"They don't exactly know that I'm here." Ward said tenderly, letting his shirt drop. "I went on my own."

"Grant, you're hurt! You shouldn't be out here! You knew that Coulson would find me most likely!"

"But I know this area better! I know what's going to happen!"

"Grant, I don't care about any of that!" Skye exclaimed. "You almost died and you're out here, still hurt, and are putting yourself in danger! Now you're hurt even worse because of my crazy ass father! What are you thinking?!"

Ward looked her firmly in the eyes, "Skye, I was only thinking about finding and saving you. I didn't care what condition I was in, as long as you are safe." he replied. He held his hand out towards her, "Come on, let's go. Before your father wakes up or Hydra finds us."

Skye looked tenderly at his hand, mad that he had risked himself to find her, but took it anyways, "Fine." she huffed. "Get me the hell out of here and as far away from that ass as we can get."

Ward nodded and smiled, leading Skye out of the room and into the hallway. They walked awhile before Ward started to worry. When he had come in here earlier, the hallways had been laced with Hydra agents. Now they were empty.

He stopped and looked at Skye, "Skye, something's wrong here." he said. "There were tons of Hydra agents here earlier, now they're gone. I don't think Coulson and the others got them that fast. Something's up."

Skye looked around the hallway, "Grant, maybe they just left." she said.

Ward shook his head, "I know what they're doing here, and they wouldn't just leave it behind. They're after some alien temple here and it's highly important to Whitehall. He wouldn't leave. Something is wrong."

Skye frowned, her stomach freezing, "What do you mean?" she asked.

"That it's a trap." came a different voice.

Both Skye and Ward froze, turning around to see Whitehall walking towards them along with two Hydra agents, a smile on his face and holding a metal briefcase.

Ward frowned, reaching for his ICERs.

Whitehall held up a hand, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." he said. "If you want to keep your life."

"Then what the hell do you want?" Ward asked.

"The two of you. I can't have two SHIELD agents running around while we're doing our business." Whitehall explained. "And I've changed my mind about you." He was looking at Skye.

"About what?" Skye asked.

"Originally, I was going to leave you to your father. But I imagined he explained just how special you are. I want to use that to help me discover the secrets of the temple." he continued. "I already have someone here helping me with it. I imagine you two are already acquainted with her."

"What the hell are you going at?" Ward asked.

Whitehall smiled and handed his briefcase to one of his agents and then opened it, revealing a metallic object that Ward remembered from the other timeline all too well.

The Obelisk.

"The Diviner only accepts a select few and lets them in the temple." Whitehall said. "And I believe, according to your father, that you are one of them. All you have to do is touch it."

Ward looked over to Skye, hoping that she would decline or something, but she stood transfixed towards it. Ward gulped and looked back towards the Obelisk/Diviner. There was something about it that pulled at him as well, that left in slight awe, but he ignored it.

Skye started to walk towards it and Whitehall smiled, "Good. Keep going." he said.

Ward rushed forward to hold her back, knowing everything that was going to happen, "Skye, don't!" he screamed. "Don't do it!"

* * *

(SHIELD Bus)

Fitz scratched at his head as he headed towards the medpod to check on Ward, "Don't know why Jemma couldn't do this." he muttered. "But at least it's just Ward."

He looked at his tablet in his hands as he walked into the room, "Hey, Ward. You okay in here?" he asked. He waited for a response as he continued to fiddle with his tablet.

Nothing.

"Ward?"

Nothing again.

"Are you asleep or something?" he asked. But he looked up and his tablet went crashing to the floor from surprise. "Ward?"

But Ward's bed was empty. The sheets were still ruffled from where he had been lying in them, but Ward was nowhere to be found. He was gone.

Fitz became frantic now and rushed back into the Holocom room, met by stares from Simmons and Mack.

"Fitz, what's wrong?" Mack asked.

Simmons' face fell, "Is there something wrong with Ward?"

Fitz shook his head frantically, "I-I, don't… He's… I'm not sure."

"Fitz?"

"Ward's gone. I can't find him. He's not on the Bus."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Another chapter today! I had the time. So Ward rescues Skye only to run into Whitehall and the Diviner. And Fitz finds that Ward is no longer on the Bus. Not good, horrible actually. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! (75 perhaps?) ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	14. Chapter 14 (Went Dark on Me)

**Chapter Fourteen (Went Dark on Me)**

"Skye, don't!" Ward screamed again, reaching out to stop Skye from going forward. But she slipped out of his grasp, still headed towards the Diviner. "Don't touch it!"

"What do you know about this thing, Agent Ward?" Whitehall asked. "Is there something about it that I should know, because if you do I want you to tell me." He motioned towards the Hydra agent that didn't hold the briefcase. "And if you don't, I'll have you killed. And I'm surprised that you didn't die days ago. You're still hurt. Why are you here?"

"To protect her." Ward said simply. "I know what's going to happen here. I don't want her going through that. It's hell." Ward ran forward to stop Skye, but the agent stepped in front of him and dug a gun into his wound. He winced and froze.

"Now, don't interfere here." Whitehall said smalley. "Or I'll have you shot in the exact same place as a few days ago, but you won't live this time."

Ward tensed up as Skye stopped in front of the briefcase, but only stared at the Diviner inside of it.

"That's right, go ahead and pick it up." Whitehall urged. "Go ahead."

Skye's hand hovered over the metal construct and Ward held his breath as she picked it up. And the exact same thing that Ward had seen played on right here. The symbols on the metal started to glow a bright orange light.

She stared at it and looked up at Whitehall in fear, "What the hell does this mean?" she asked.

"That your father was right. You _are _special." Whitehall said with a slightly creepy smile. "Just what I hoped for."

Skye's face twitched and she turned around and suddenly dug the Diviner into the briefcase-holding Hydra agent. He screamed out as he turned to stone and crumbled away.

She turned around to do the same to the other agent, but that's when she noticed that he had a gun buried into Ward's stomach.

"I wouldn't do that again if I were you." Whitehall said coldly. "Drop it." He took out what seemed to be an ICER and pointed it towards her. "At least I got what I needed. I'll subdue the two of you for the time being until I'm ready for you. Hopefully Raina can find the temple."

Skye's face fell and she looked over to Ward and then back to Whitehall, "Wait, Raina?" she asked. But two high-pitched noises rang out and everything went black.

* * *

(Sometime Later)

Skye groaned and opened her eyes to find herself tied in a chair in what seemed to be a kitchen. She looked over to see Ward looking at her. "Grant? What happened?"  
"You touched that damned thing and then Whitehall iced us." Ward explained. "You okay?"

Skye nodded slightly, "I guess." Her eyes trailed down, "The Diviner, what does it mean?" she asked.

"I don't remember what exactly from the other timeline, but it has something to do about you being not human and something about the temple in this place. Something about change." Ward explained. "I really don't know."

"I've got to go down there." Skye quickly said. "I've got to find that temple. It has to be below us."

Ward's face fell and he frantically shook his head, "No, Skye, don't do that!" he exclaimed. "That's what I've been trying to stop this whole entire time!"

"You don't have a say in what has anything to do with me!" Skye spat, trying to untie herself from the chair. "You don't!"

"Skye, I am your boyfriend and I care about you! This isn't the thing to do! Something really bad is going to happen if you go down there!"

"Grant, this will finally tell me who I am." Skye said. "Look, we're in here unguarded, I can get down there."

"And that's the weird thing about it! Whitehall wants you to go down there!" Ward exclaimed, freeing himself from the rope. "Skye, you don't understand what's going to happen if you go down there! Hell, Raina of all freaking people is here! That's got to at least tell you something about this whole damn mess!"

Ward watched as the rope fell from Skye's wrists and she stood up and approached him. He tensed up, remembering the other timeline. This was when she shot him four times. But she didn't have a gun now.

She looked him firmly in the eyes, "Grant, for my entire life I've been searching the answer to who am I." she said. "Now I can finally figure it out. I love you, but I'm not going to let you stop me from doing this."

Ward blinked, realizing that she was in some Diviner-fueled delusion, "Skye, you've got to snap out of it. This isn't what needs to happen." he said calmly. "Please."

Skye shook her head, "I'm not listening to you, Grant." she said, turning around and starting to run off. "I'm not."

Ward's stomach fell, it was happening. He started to chase her, knowing that this fate would be inevitable. "Skye, stop!" he screamed.

He chased after her, unaware of what hellstorm he was about to face. Their entire lives would be turned upside down and burned down as well.

* * *

(Sometime Ago)

"Sir, I don't see where she could be." Hunter complained. "We've searched the damn place and have only found Hydra agents."

"She's got to be around here somewhere." Coulson replied. "Just keep looking and see if you can find anything about this 'temple' Hydra is searching for here as well. It has something to do with alien tech, and that's something that we can't let fall into their hands."

"That's bloody grand." Hunter mumbled as they continued to walk.

It was him, Coulson, and Trip together. Bobbi and May had went a separate route.

They walked for a while before Simmons' voice in Coulson's ear made him stop and he made Trip and Hunter stop as well.

"_Sir?"_

"What is it, Simmons?" he asked.

"_We have a, uh, little situation here."_

"Like what?" he asked. "How bad is it?"

"_It's Ward."_

Coulson's face fell, "What about him? Did his condition relapse?"

Trip and Hunter looked over to Coulson with confused looks on their faces.

"_Uh, no. He's gone. We can't find him anywhere on the Bus. We believe he snuck out to find Skye himself and he's somewhere out in the ruins as well."_

"Damnit!" Coulson spat. "How long ago?"

"_Maybe an hour or so. Fitz, Mack, and I were in the Holocom room for a while watching you guys. Fitz went to check on him and he was gone."_

"Keep watching the Holocom, Simmons. We'll try to find him as well." Coulson said, disconnecting from the conversation.

"What was that about?" Trip asked.

"Ward's not on the Bus. They think he left to try and find Skye on his own." Coulson explained.

"Is he crazy?" Hunter asked. "He's hurt, he'll die out here!"

Coulson sighed, "I know that. Now we have to find him, Skye, and figure out what the hell Hydra is doing here." he said.

"Then let's get moving." Triplett said.

Coulson nodded and the three started deeper into the city, trying to figure out just where Skye and Ward could be. But they were unaware of the impending storm of hell fire and earth that would soon ensue.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don''t own AoS, Marvel does. Sorry for a short chapter, but I'm sick and surprised that I was able to update. So, everything starts to go to hell already. It's about to get bad, really bad. So brace yourselves. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! (Can we make it to 80?) ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	15. Chapter 15 (No Less Than Light)

**Chapter Fifteen (No Less Than Light)**

"Skye, wait! Please stop!" Ward screamed out, still chasing after Skye. She had a good lead on him and despite his speed, he couldn't catch up. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into!"

Skye ignored his pleas and she kept running, leading him down hallways and into a massive room with a hole dug out in the floor. Digging equipment was laid strewn around the massive hole and a rope and tether system lead down into the hole.

Ward knew that Hydra had already been through here. But there was no stopping Skye.

Skye went quickly down the tether system, surprising Ward at how fast she went down. He took a breath and followed her, not knowing what hell he was about to get himself into.

As Ward reached the bottom, he found himself in what seemed to be another world almost. He looked around and immediately knew where they were at. The temple. The alien temple that Hydra had been searching for. And the temple that would do whatever the hell it was going to do to Skye.

He looked ahead and saw Skye turn a corner and he bolted at full speed after her. "Skye, please!" he yelled out. "Don't do this!"

Ward finally caught up to her when she stopped in confusion, trying to figure out where she was at. He put a hand on her shoulder, "Skye, we've got to go back now." Ward said. "You don't know what you are doing."

Skye pushed his hand off of her, "Yes, I do. I'm finally figuring out just who I am, Grant. That's something that I've been trying to figure out for forever. Now it's just right here, I know it." she said coldly.

"You're not going to like it."

"What the hell do you know?" Skye asked. "Oh, you 'saw the future' but you never said what happens to me. Is it really that bad that you're going to stop your own girlfriend from finally figuring something out that she's been searching her entire life for? Are you?"

Ward gulped, "Skye, I," he began.

"You can't stop me, Grant." Skye cut in. "The heart of the temple, where I'm supposed to be, is right over there." she said pointing to an opening in the wall. "I'm going."

She stalked off and left Ward on his own. He stood there frozen, not sure what to do. As Skye walked into the opening, the ground started to rumble and the opening started to seal. His face fell and he dashed forward, "Skye!" he yelled, slipping through the closing seal.

He stumbled through into the room, coming to a horrified looking Skye and,

"_Raina?" _he asked.

Raina stood in the room as well, the Diviner in her hands and a confused look on her face, "Well, I knew that Skye would show up here, but you? You've walked to your death." she said.

Ward's face fell, "What?" he asked, looking at Skye whose face had fallen as well.

"I don't think that even Skye knows what is going on here." Raina said. "A new life, only for those that have been accepted by the Diviner. Those of the bloodline. Like me and Skye."

"New life?" Skye asked.

"Did your father not explain to you what this entails?" Raina asked.

"He barely explained anything to me other than that I was his daughter. He's crazy. Grant got me out of there." Skye stated. "Other than that I'm special. What the hell does that do anyways?"

"It changes us. Reveals our true nature, what's hidden inside of us. What I've been seeking for a long time." Raina explained. "I offered my help to Whitehall so I could get here and it worked. Skye, this is the beginning of a new life." She looked over to Ward, "But not for him though."

Skye's face fell, "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"He's not like us, Skye. He doesn't have what it takes. He ran in here hoping to 'save' you from what is coming, only to run into his own death. The change won't do anything to him but kill him. He won't make it out of here alive." Raina explained. She said these things only to scare Skye though. She knew that there was something off about Ward. She knew she was wrong about the fact that he was going to die here.

"He's going to die, Skye."

Skye's face drained of all color, and she looked over to Ward, "Grant, I… I didn't know…. I didn't mean to drag you down here."

Ward shook his head, "No, it's not your fault. I should've left you alone. I'm sorry, Skye. This is all my fault. I thought I could change everything. I guess somethings are meant to be and can't be interfered with. And I'm paying with my death. I'm sorry."

Raina raised an eyebrow, "I have no clue what this is about, but I would like to get on with everything." she said, holding the Diviner out towards a pedestal in the middle of the room.

It floated out of her hand, towards the pedestal, and landing on it. The construct started to glow and it opened, revealing what seemed to be a cluster of crystals of some sort.

Ward frowned, taking a step bad, Skye holding onto his hand.

Raina grinned, "So this is it." she said. "The moment."

Ward's stomach churned as the crystals suddenly glowed and then exploded with some kind of mist, buffeting the three of them. They looked around at each other and Ward stepped back when he felt that something was wrong. Horribly wrong.

He looked down at his arms, seeing that some kind of brown, stone-like substance was encasing them. He looked up at Skye with fear in his eyes, "Skye. Help." he croaked out, before falling to the ground trying to get the stone off.

Raina's eyes widened, she was right. But the same stone started to encase her as well.

"Skye!" Ward screamed as the stone fully encased him, leaving nothing but a frozen statue of him kneeling on the ground.

"Grant?" Skye asked. She looked down to herself and saw the same exact thing happening to her. The stone laced up her body, freezing her in some kind of cocoon. It fully encased her and one word echoed through the chamber.

"Grant!"

* * *

(Somewhere Above the Temple)

Coulson, May, Hunter, and Bobbi ran, trying to figure out where the hell Ward and Skye could be at. There was no sight of Hydra or them anywhere. Coulson was fearing for the worse.

"Where the bloody hell could they be?!" Hunter exclaimed. "They've got to be around here somewhere!"

"I don't know. But they can't be far, unless Hydra got to them again." Coulson replied. "But we've got to find them. Ward's still hurt, he doesn't need to be out here like he is. He could die. And we don't know who Skye's father is, so there's that."

"Well, that's great." Bobbi commented. "There are like fifty different problems we've got to do deal with right now."

"Just keep looking." May stated as they still ran. "Like Coulson said, they can't be that far from here."  
"Well, I hope it's close." Hunter muttered.

They continued to run until the ground lurched underneath their feet, sending them to the ground. As they regained their senses and looked up from the ground, they noticed that everything was shaking, and the tremors were growing.

"Is this some kind of bloody earthquake?" Hunter asked as they got to their feet, holding onto the wall.

"In Puerto Rico? Not likely." May stated. "Something's wrong here. Either it is a freak, unnatural quake or Hydra is doing something beneath us."

Coulson's face fell, "The temple. I think it's underneath here." he said above the growing shaking. "It has to be something in there."

"We've got to get out of here!" Bobbi exclaimed. "Before the place crumbles on top of us!"

"But what about Skye and Ward?" Hunter asked. "We can't leave them here!"

Coulson gulped, "I know, but we won't make it if we stay in here. Get out of here! As fast as you can!"

The four agents struggled to run out of the building through the growing tremors. They thought it was just a freak thing of nature, but they were unaware of what was happening underneath them.

Hell. Hell was happening.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So, yeah, there you go. And just going to leave you on that cliffhanger and to the impending hellstorm that will ensue. I'm that bad. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! (Can we make it to 85?) ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	16. Chapter 16 (Just Burn Like Fire)

**Chapter Sixteen (Just Burn Like Fire)**

When he opened his eyes, there was pain. Not just pricking your finger pain, but pain that felt like someone had stuck him inside of a furnace and left him to burn. He screamed out as his insides felt like they were on fire. He tried to look around, but could hardly see. The pain blurred his vision.

What was happening? He didn't know. The pain was too intense for him to even think. The contents of his stomach came up as he vomited on to the ground. He knew that he was dying, but why did it feel like this? Like he was burning in the deepest hell. It was unbearable.

His eyes shifted over to where Skye had been standing before everything had gone dark on him. Through the blurs, he could see a faint outline of her but she wasn't moving. Frozen.

He groaned in agony as the ground beneath him started to lurch and shake. Was he hallucinating? He didn't think that San Juan got earthquakes like this. His eyes darted to where Raina was, but she was gone. The shaking started to grow more and more.

"Skye?" he croaked out. "Help. Please help me."

His eyes drifted back to where the frozen Skye stood, but she was now moving, running towards him.

"Grant!" she screamed. "Grant!"

"Skye?" he croaked out again.

But the ground came rushing up to meet him once again and darkness met him like an old friend. Burning unconsciousness.

* * *

Skye blinked as the stone cocoon broke off of her. Her eyes darted around. Raina was gone and Ward…. Ward was on the ground in a pool of what seemed to be vomit and blood.

"Grant!" she cried out, running towards him and not noticing the massive earthquake happening around them. She slid down beside him, worrying what Raina had said about him dying was true. Maybe he was dead.

But the ragged rise and fall of his back indicated that he was still breathing, but he was either dying or in a hell of a lot of pain. He was still alive for the time being.

"Grant?" Skye asked, reaching out. She went to touch his face but jerked her hand back in pain. His skin was hot. But not fever hot, like furnace hot. It was literally burning. And his skin had taken on a pinkish hue from it.

Skye gulped and looked around the chamber, still not noticing the shaking around her, which was starting to die off. She noticed that the door that had sealed earlier was now open. She looked back to Ward.

"Grant, I don't know what happened." she said quietly. "But I've got to get you out of here. At least to somewhere where I can get the others to come and get you."

She stood up and carefully turning him over onto his back and grabbed the collar of his jacket and started to pull. God, he was heavy, but this was the only way to get him to safety.

It took what seemed like forever, but she was able to get him underneath where the tether was, but she knew that she couldn't get him up it by herself. She took a breath, hoping that Coulson or someone was near, "Coulson! Trip! Somebody! Help!" she screamed. "We need help!"

* * *

(Elsewhere)

Coulson, Hunter, May, and Bobbi ran out into the sunlight as the tremors started to die down, only to run into Trip who had been checking on Fitzsimmons and Mack.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked. "I didn't think that this part of the world got quakes like this." He looked around, "Did you find Skye or Ward yet?"

Coulson took a breath and shook his head, "No. We were close, I think, when the tremors started. We couldn't stay in there with everything shaking like it was."

"Sir, everything's dying down now." Hunter commented. "I think we should go back to find them. If they're in there, the place could be unstable and could collapse and kill them. We need to hurry."

May looked to Coulson, "He's right. But we need to be careful going in. We still don't know what's in that temple. And it could be unstable due to that short, yet strong, quake." she said.

Coulson nodded, "Then let's go." he stated. "I don't want anyone dying here. Let's just hope that we're not too late."

All five of them ran back in the direction of the temple, hoping that they could find the two. Hopefully, Hydra didn't get to them or the quake didn't kill them. They still had to be in there somewhere.

They searched the building until a faint cry caught their attention.

"Help! Somebody!"

They stopped and looked at each other. "What was that?" Bobbi asked.

"It sounded like a woman's voice." Hunter said.

"Help! Coulson!"

Coulson's face fell, "It's Skye. She's still alive." she said. He turned towards the direction that Skye's cry had come from. "And hopefully that means that Ward is too."

The five agents ran down a hallway and into a large, open room with a hole in the floor surrounded by drilling equipment. A tether system hung from the ceiling.

"This all must belong to Hydra." May said. "They probably found the temple."

"And Skye probably had something to do with it. That's why she was brought here to her father."

"Help!"

Coulson gulped and rushed over to the hole and looked down, seeing faint figures on the ground.. "Skye?" he called out.

"Coulson?! Is that you! Get us out of here!"  
"Us? Is Ward down there?"

"Yes, but he's hurt. Bad. I can't get him myself."

"Dammit." Coulson spat. "I knew something bad would happen." He looked at Hunter and Trip and pointed towards the tether system, "Go down there and help bring Ward back up. By the sound of it, we're going to have to go back to the Bus. Fast."

The two nodded and after a while, were going down the tether system. Coulson heard them reach the bottom and them starting to talk.

"_What happened?"_

"_I-I really don't know. I'll explain later."_

"_Good, because we need to get him back to the Bus and the base now."_

"_Be careful touching him! His skin…."_

"_His skin looks fine to me. Trip, help me get him into the harness."_

"_Up you go."_

"_Alright, Coulson, we've got him!"_

Coulson looked to May and Bobbi, "Alright, start it up. Make sure that it's steady and he doesn't hit anything on the way up."

The two agents nodded and activated the system. After what seemed like an hour, Ward's unconscious frame came into view. Coulson got him and they got him out of the harness and laid him on the ground. Then they sent the tether back down.

The three agents looked at Ward's body. His clothes were covered in what seemed to be vomit and blood. He was profusely sweating and his breathing was heavy and labored. He was either sick, in pain, or dying. Or perhaps all three.

"Dammit." Coulson muttered. "What the hell happened to him?"

"Hydra?"

"It wasn't Hydra."

They looked to see Skye coming up with Trip. They detached themselves from the tether and sent it back down for Hunter.

"What do you mean it wasn't Hydra?" Bobbi asked. "What else could've done this?"

"Something in that temple. I really don't know. It knocked him out and me as well. When I woke up, he was like that. Something happened to him and I don't know what it was." Skye explained. She didn't want to mention the whole part about Raina, the Diviner, and Ward's skin being practically on fire. Now wasn't the time.

As Hunter came up, Coulson looked towards him, "We've got to get him. Trip, Hunter, see if you can carry him. Bobbi, alert Simmons and the others that we're bringing Ward back and he's hurt. Bad. May, Skye, clear the way."

They all nodded and started the 'journey' to bring Ward back to the Bus. Hopefully, they could get him back to the Bus before he bled out.

As they went, Skye knew that something had happened to him. Well, not just him, her too. Something had changed with the both of them. And she was afraid to figure out just what.

* * *

(Unknown)

Ward screamed out as darkness and pain surrounded him. As well as burning heat. Everything within him was burning. "What the hell is wrong with me?!" he screamed out, hoping that someone would hear him.

Oh, he got a response, but from the person that he thought that was long dead. "I'm surprised that you don't know, son."

Ward spun around in his pain to see Garrett striding up towards him. "What hell hell are you doing here?" he asked. "You're dead."

He smiled, "But this is your head. I'm never dead here as long as the thought is alive." he said. "I'm always here."

"What the hell is going on? What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing is 'wrong' with you, son. This was always in your nature. To be a monster. Take a look at yourself." he said, pointing down at the water that Ward just noticed they were standing in.

Ward stepped back, noticing that his eyes were a blood red color. He looked back up, "What am I?" he asked, fear in his voice.

Garrett smiled. "You are the demon in the night. The monster that little kids check under their bed for. You are the abomination borne of the hottest flames of hell. This is what you were destined to become. A monster."

Ward shook his head, "I am not a monster!" he screamed, flames forming out of nowhere. "I worked so hard to avoid becoming such!"

"You avoided becoming a metaphorical monster." Garrett stated. "You are a literal one. This is something that you couldn't avoid. Some things are set in stone and cannot be rewritten. This is who you really are, Son. Get used to the hell." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Ward became weak and fell to his knees. He looked at his reflection in the water. "I'm a monster?" he asked. "Monster. What I was always destined to be. Can't escape from that."

His head hung low as the flames around him engulfed him. Through his mind-numbing pain, a faint voice filtered through.

"_Grant! Please hang on! Don't leave me!"_

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So, this is where the story starts to take a dark, dark turn, as you could see at the very end. The same thing that happened to Skye has happened to Ward, but he's hurt and most likely dying because his wounds from just days before took a turn for the worst in the hellstorm. Will he make it? Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! (Can we make it to 90 or more?) ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	17. Chapter 17 (Never Be The Same)

**Chapter Seventeen (Never Be The Same)**

They had gotten Ward back to the base as fast as they could, rooming him in a quarantine infirmary room where he could recover. He didn't need any kind of surgery or anything, just more blood. Whatever had happened to him caused his still-healing bullet wound to open up again and to bleed heavily.

He was cleaned up and left alone, but he wouldn't wake up. No one could go in and out anyways since he was in quarantine. Simmons had discovered a strange alien residue energy on him, as well as Skye, and had ordered the both of them to be quarantined. Thing was, the base had only one good quarantine room. So Skye and Ward had to be roomed together, despite Ward being unconscious.

Skye sighed and looked from her bed over to where Ward laid, still out cold. "What happened to you, Grant?" she whispered. She looked down to her hands, "What happened to me?"

It had been two days since the two of them had been quarantined, and Skye was already starting to notice strange things happening around her. Things would shake, things would randomly fall from the shelves. Hell, there had been an argument between the team right outside of the quarantine room that agitated her just not too long ago, and she noticed shaking around her.

And she knew that she had something to do with it.

The argument had been about something of what to do with the temple and Simmons and Mack had started to say things about how whatever had 'infected' Skye (the alien energy) needed to be taken care of and how it was a menace. But that was when Skye knew that the alien energy wasn't foreign, it was her.

She clenched her fists, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. She didn't understand what had happened to her and Ward in the temple, but she knew that they didn't come out the same.

"Skye!"

Skye looked up to see a cheery Simmons, along with Fitz coming into the room, "What's up, Jemma?" she asked, noting that the biochemist had a tablet in her hand.

"Good news. The residual energy that had infected you is going away, same with Ward." she explained. "You can leave quarantine soon and Ward will be transferred to a regular infirmary room soon as well. And your blood was perfectly fine, so the energy didn't do a thing to you."

Skye looked down, knowing that there was no way that Simmons was telling the truth.

"Well, I've got to tell Coulson about this." Simmons said, hurrying off.

Fitz gulped and came up to the glass, "You don't believe her, do you?" he asked. "I noticed you've been kind of distant."

Skye shook her head, "Fitz, I don't believe her. I know that something's wrong with me, and with Grant." she said. "I just can't explain it."

Fitz gulped again, "W-Well, what Jemma said wasn't really the truth."

Skye's face fell, "What?" she said, her heart skipping a beat.

"She thinks it is, but it's not. Your blood, it's far from fine." Fitz explained. "I-I switched your current blood samples with older ones, t-to protect you."

"Protect me?! Why?"

"Because of how much Jemma hates alien biology."

"What are you saying?"

"Your blood wasn't human, Skye." Fitz stated. "There were extra macromolecules in it, marking it as not human. And the earlier during the argument, your heart rate was measured at 300 BPM…. That's… Inhuman…" There was fear growing in Fitz's eyes. "And the same thing with Ward's blood. The both of you, you're not human anymore."

Skye was starting to shake, "No… This can't be…" she said. "I knew I was always different…. And there was a possibility of me being alien… But- But I didn't think it was true…"

Fitz started to back up as the ground started to shake, "The tremors…. It's you?"

"I can't help it, Fitz." Skye cried. "But I'm not a monster! I don't need protecting from anyone!" she screamed. As she screamed, the massive surgical light above her shattered.

Fitz's eyes shrunk, but he ran forward as the glass rained down onto her. Skye slid off the bed and to the ground, trying to pick the glass up, but she cut her hand. Fitz ran into the room and knelt down beside her.

Skye looked at him, tears in her eyes and blood welling on her hand, "Fitz, what's wrong with me?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him.

"There's nothing wrong with you." Fitz said, trying to comfort her. "And Ward too. You're just… Different… And there's nothing wrong with that…"

Skye buried her head into Fitz's shoulder and let the tears go. She was a monster, and there was nothing she could do about it. And she had no clue what could be wrong with Ward.

* * *

(Later That Night)

Skye's eyes snapped wide open as full-blown screaming pierced through the quiet night. She jolted up and looked towards Ward's bed and her stomach fell. He was writhing in pain in the bed, screaming bloody murder. She jumped up to try and calm him down.

Skye reached out to hold his arms down, but quickly pulled her hands back finding his skin burning hot again. His eyes were wide-open and wild and he fell off of the bed in his agony.

"Grant!" she exclaimed. "Calm down!"

"Make it stop!" he screeched, holding his head in pain from the floor. "Make it stop!"

She was afraid to approach him, because she had no clue what the hell was happening to him. "Make what stop, Grant?" she asked.

"The fire! Put it out! It's burning me alive!" he screamed. "Put it out! Put it out!"

Skye stood there, mouth slightly agape. Either something was horribly wrong or Ward was going crazy. But since he had gone through the same thing she had went through, she wouldn't guess twice that weird things were happening to him too.

"I'll go get Simmons!"

"Don't. Get. Her." he growled through his pain. "Don't get no one!"

"Grant, something is wrong with you! You've been unconscious for two days and now this! I'm going to get someone!"

"Like hell they would do anything! Make the fire stop!" he screeched again. "Leave me alone!"

Skye's face fell and she started to slowly approach the fallen, writhing Ward, "Grant?"

His head shot towards her, contorted into a snarl.

But that's not what scared her, it was his eyes. His eyes were no longer the soft brown hue that she loved, they were now a demonic blood-red color.

"Grant?" she asked again.

"Get the hell away from me!" he screeched. He thrusted his hand towards her, as if he was fighting an invisible enemy, and _fire _shot out of it. The fireball missed her by a long shot, hitting the brick ceiling above and fading out.

Ward's body seized again and he fell unconscious.

Skye stood there in fear and in confusion. Fire. Fire had just shot out of his hand. And his eyes looked like he had been possessed by the Devil.

"Grant, what the hell is going on?" she muttered to herself. "What's wrong with us?"

"What's going on?!" someone yelled as the lights in the lab outside switched on.

Skye spun around to see Coulson, May, and Triplett running over towards her. She did not want to mention what had just happened. Ward and the fire. Ward and the demon eyes. She did not want to.

"Uh, Grant… He… He had a seizure or something and fell out of the bed." she fibbed. Well, she was half-right.

"But what was all that yelling?" Trip asked. "I could've sworn that I heard him yelling."

"I think he, he was hallucinating or something before he passed out again." Skye continued. "It wasn't very long. And I was trying to get him to snap out of it. And I couldn't get him back into the bed."

Coulson looked to Trip, "Trip, help me get Ward back into his bed. I guess I need to get Simmons and some medical agents in here to take a look at him in the morning. Let him sleep the rest of the night and see what happens in the morning." he said.

Trip nodded and he and Coulson went in and got to the fallen, unconscious Ward. Trip went to take Ward's upper-half, but drew back his arm, "Damn. Why is his skin so hot?" he asked.

Coulson felt the man's forehead and whistled, "He must be running one hell of a fever. Like I said, let's let him sleep the rest of the night and check again in the morning." he said.

Trip nodded again and the two managed to get Ward back into his bed.

Skye stood there uncomfortably, knowing that there was something far worse than just a fever wrong with Ward. And with her.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So, there's a version of the Skye/Fitz scene from 2x11 (but in this case Trip's still alive). And it's shown that Ward's changed too. Again, nothing good is to come from this. Nothing but darkness as things come to light. And the others just think that he's sick. They don't know the truth. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! (Can we make it to 95 or so?) ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	18. Chapter 18 (Burn Up The Night)

**Chapter Eighteen (Burn Up The Night)**

(The Next Morning)

Skye was surprised when she woke up the next morning to see Ward awake and alert in his bed next to her. She frowned, seeing that he looked perfectly fine, especially after last night's incident. Almost too fine.

"Grant?" she asked. "You're okay?"

He blinked and looked over to her, "Okay?" he asked with confusion. "Why shouldn't I be? I don't understand."

Skye gulped, he didn't remember did he? Did he forget the temple and his incident last night? "Grant, you've been unconscious for almost three days. Do you not remember the temple?"

He cocked his head, "For three days?" he asked. "I woke up perfectly fine this morning. Why am I in here anyways? Why are you in here too?"

"Grant, this is a quarantine room. We were exposed to alien energy in the temple and Simmons wanted to make sure that we were okay." she explained. "Do you not remember what happened?"

He shook his head, "It's all a blur, so no." He frowned, "Was there a fire? I remember fire."

She blinked. Yes, there was a fire last night. Well, fireball from him. He didn't remember the change. He didn't know that he was different.

"In a way." she explained. "So, yes."

"Oh my God! You're awake!"

Ward frowned and looked to the opposite side of the glass and saw Simmons standing there, her jaw wide open, "So, is everyone going to be surprised?" he asked. "And, yes, I feel perfectly fine. I know you're going to ask that."

Simmons hurried into the room and started checking Ward, "I don't believe it, you're perfectly fine." She checked his wound, "And your wound, it's almost gone. I don't believe it. What's going on?"

Ward shrugged, "I'm just good like that?" he asked with a smug smile.

Simmons rolled her eyes, "Well, for the both of you, the alien energy's cleared. So, you're both good to go. I still don't believe you, Ward." she repeated. "You're perfectly fine."

Ward got up out of the bed and stretch his muscles, "Again, I'm good like that." he teased.

"Well, you can walk around, but I'm still watching you." Simmons stated, leaving them.

Skye looked at Ward as she stood up as well, "I guess we can call you the walking miracle now." she joked, going over and burying herself in his chest. "But I'm just glad that you're okay."

"Me too." he laughed.

But Skye knew that Ward was far from fine. And she was afraid that that episode from last night would reappear, but worse this time.

* * *

(Two Days Later)

Skye and Ward walked around the outside of the base, doing what they did best. Talking. Everyone else had been amazed that Ward had recovered so fast. And no one but Skye and Fitz knew that he wasn't human. And Skye hoped to keep it that way for a just while longer.

Ward didn't even know that he himself wasn't human either. He didn't know what was hidden deep inside of him. And he didn't know that he hadn't stopped Skye from changing. It was like all of his memories of the event had been wiped.

"So, Skye, what happened in the temple?" Ward asked.

Skye took a breath, trying to figure out what to say, "You passed out. You got hurt again and it opened your bullet wound up again, really bad. You almost bled out and there was an earthquake." she explained.

He frowned, "An earthquake? In San Juan?" he asked.

"That's what I said."

"Nature is freaky." he muttered.

Skye looked down, kind of hurt by what Ward was saying. She knew that she was the one that had caused the quake, but he didn't know that. He didn't know that the both of the weren't human.

"It works in mysterious ways, that's all." Skye said.

Ward raised an eyebrow, "Getting deep now, aren't you?" he joked. "'Cause that's deep for you."

"Just saying."

Ward laughed, "Whatever you say."

Skye rolled her eyes and the two continued to walk around the outside of the base. After a while Skye got a little ahead of him.

As Ward was behind Skye, he stopped as a sudden, burning pain shot through his body, causing him to fall to the ground. His body froze up and wouldn't respond to him as his crouched on the ground, grimacing in pain.

It felt as though his body was slowly being burnt alive. He manage to bring his hands to his head to hold it as the pain grew and grew.

Skye stopped and looked up, seeing that it was growing dark, "Grant, I guess that we need to go in before Coulson sends a search team after us." she said. No response. She frowned, "Grant?" she asked, turning around.

Her stomach fell as she saw Ward kneeling on the ground, holding his head in agony. Vivid images of the other night flashed through her head. Whatever he had changed into was acting up again.

"Skye… Help… It burns… I want…. I want to die…" he growled through clenched teeth. "Make it end."

She slowly approached him as he groaned out in pain, "Grant?" she asked again. "What the hell is going on?" She was afraid to get any closer to him.

"Help…"

"Grant, what's going on?!"

She watched as his body shuddered and he tensed up as everything just went blank, covered by the burning pain. His hands dropped to the ground and his head fell.

Skye's stomach to churn as Ward wouldn't move. And she could've sworn that the air around him was simmering, like the air above the asphalt on a road on a hot, summer day. And his skin had taken the soft, pink hue that she had seen the other day.

She took a step closer towards him reaching out a hand, "Grant, is everything okay?" she asked. "Are you alright?"

"Get away from me." he growled lowly, still looking down. His body trembled. "Something's wrong… It hurts…."

"What's wrong, Grant?"

"I don't know… Run, before you die…"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

His body shuddered again, "Please get away… Pain… Fire…. Monster coming…"

Now he was starting to make no sense. But there was obviously something wrong with him.

His body was still reacting to the change, and it wasn't reacting well. This wasn't going to end well.

"Grant!" she exclaimed. "Just tell me what's wrong!"

His head shot up and she stumbled back. Those same blood-red eyes from the other night were staring back at her. The eyes that had marked his fit of whatever the hell it was.

"Get the hell away from me!" he screamed. "Get the hell away!"

She scrambled back as he suddenly rose to his feet, flames igniting in his shaky fists. "Grant?"

There was a wild, pained looked in his eyes, "Get away. Get away." he repeated. "Something's wrong. Something's wrong."

Skye found herself backed up against the wall of one of the base's buildings as Ward kept slowly approaching, his fists on fire.

He was confused, he was in pain. But that turned his mind slightly crazed in this moment and Skye was afraid that he would end up hurting her.

"Get away…"

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Sorry for the short chapter, I need to go to sleep because I've got the ACT in the morning. But Ward is miraculously fine, but it doesn't seem that the change is done wrecking havoc on his body just yet. So, leaving you on a cliffhanger like that. Sorry. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! (Can we make it to 100?) ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	19. Chapter 19 (Turn My Eyes to Fire)

**Chapter Nineteen (Lift My Eyes To Fire)**

"Grant! Please calm down!" Skye yelled, tears of fear in her eyes. "Please!"

Ward, fists still on fire, continued to slowly approach her. Fear and pain were alive with a wild light in his eyes. He had no clue what was going on. "What's wrong with me?" he asked.

Skye gulped, beginning to shake just a bit. And of course, that caused the ground to reverberate with her fear. "Grant, first you've got to calm down. I know what's wrong with you, you're going to be okay. It's going to be okay."

"How is it going to be okay when everything hurts?" he asked, looking at the flames spouting from his arms. "It burns, Skye. It feels like I'm dying. And, right now, I want to."

Skye looked to the ground, trying to get a hold of herself most of all to stop the tremors. She took a breath, "I-I think you'll be okay." she stammered. "Grant, calm down. There's nothing wrong with you, the same thing happened to me that happened to you."

He blinked, the red color fading from his eyes. He suddenly wobbled as the flames disappeared as fast as they had come, and he fell to his knees. "But you're not on fire. Fire isn't spouting from your arms." he muttered.

Skye gulped and walked over to him, kneeling next to him, "Well, not that. The temple."

He looked at her, pain and weakness in his eyes. His loss of control had drained him, and he still wasn't in the best condition. "What about it?" he asked. "I don't remember what happened."

"I really don't know myself, but we both changed in there. And got powers. You with fire. And I think me with earthquakes."

His face fell even more, "Earthquakes?"

"I'm not sure. Whenever my emotions do weird things, it causes tremors. Shockwaves. I really don't know." Skye explained. "It's been a long few days."

"If you knew that something happened to me, then why did you hide it from me?" Ward asked, looking away from her. "Why?"

"Grant, I'm not even sure what happened. How would I even begin to explain to you that something happened to you too? The other night, before you woke up, you woke up in some kind of pain-driven attack. You were screaming to high hell, claiming that you were being burnt alive.

I tried to calm you down, but you were completely wacked-out. Your eyes were blood-red and, somehow, you flung a ball of flame above my head. Then you passed out. I managed to explain to Coulson, May, and Trip, who came running in, that you had a seizure and fell out of the bed.

And how was I supposed to tell them that you somehow created fire?" she asked. "I don't know what Coulson would do."  
"Why? Why did I change?" Ward asked. "Raina said that I would die. I'm not dead."

Skye took a breath, "I guess you're like me." she replied. "Of the same race, whatever we are. I guess that Raina didn't know, just thought that you would die. Not turn out like this."

"Skye, please don't tell anyone about this." Ward said quietly. "I don't know what they would do. You know they care about us, but there's no telling what they would do if they found out about what happened."

"I won't say anything just yet. But Fitz already knows."

"Fitz?"

"He was helping examine the blood samples of us both and saw they were no longer human blood. Switched them out with older samples to hide them from Simmons. And he knows of my powers. But it's just Fitz."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I didn't scare you?" Ward asked, looking Skye in the eyes. "I know I probably did."

"Grant, honestly, I was kind of scared. But it was just the way you were acting. You were wanting to die, and I was afraid that you were going to kill yourself if you didn't calm down.

But this whole thing doesn't change anything. I still love you no matter what. Even if you can somehow create fire. We're both different. But it doesn't change a single thing between us." she went on.

Ward smiled, but didn't say anything.

"Grant, it'll be okay. Even if nobody else helps us, we've got each other." Skye continued. She stood up and held out her hand towards Ward, "I promise."  
Ward took her hand and stood up, "I hope so." he said. "I hope that this doesn't all go to hell." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

She dug her head in his chest. He was still warm from the attack, or whatever you could call it. "You're warm." she said, muffled by his shirt.

"And it's dark." he said. "I bet Coulson thinks we've got lost."

She looked up at him, frowning, "Oh, great. He'll send out a rescue team. We better get going."

"Whatever you say. But let's keep this whole thing a secret. I can explain the pain I'm in right now. I'll blame the wound." Ward said. "Don't say anything about the fire."

"I promise I won't, as long as you don't say anything about me."

Ward smiled softly, "I won't. I won't put you in danger like that."

Skye smiled in response, and the two started back towards the main part of the base, hand in hand.

* * *

(Later)

"Where the hell were you two?!" Coulson exclaimed, staring down Skye and Ward. "There was a damn earthquake and we couldn't find you! I sent Trip and Hunter out!"

"We were taking a walk." Skye tried to explain. "We took shelter from the quake. We're okay though."

Coulson narrowed his eyes, seeing the weak, pained look in Ward's face, "Grant, are you sure that you're okay? Is something bothering you?"

Ward's heart skipped a beat, "It's just my wound, sir." he replied. "It's acting up a bit. I'll be okay though."

Coulson raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure? Do you want me to get Simmons or one of the med agents to look at it?" he asked.

Ward shook his head, "I'm fine."

"Well, in that case, you two are dismissed. Just don't get lost in another earthquake." Coulson said, leaving them alone.

Skye rolled her eyes and dragged Ward out of the room, only to run into Hunter and Bobbi, a weird smile on Hunter's face.

"So you two finally showed up. Were you two 'playing around'?" he asked, grinning.

"God, Lance, don't start that." Bobbi groaned.

"We weren't 'playing around'." Ward stated harshly, irritated by Hunter. "We were just walking around and the quake hit. Get your mind out of the damn gutter."

"Well, you should at least check in every now and then." Hunter shot back. "Instead of working my ass off trying to find you."

Ward's faced twitched and Skye gripped his hand to tell him to calm down. She cringed and her stomach froze, feeling that Ward's skin was heating up from his anger.

"Grant." she said quietly.

Ward blinked and looked down, "Never mind." he grumbled as Skye led him off.

Hunter frowned and looked to Bobbi, "What's up with him?" he asked.

"Well, you were messing with him and you and him aren't the best of friends." Bobbi stated.

"No, I know that. But he's been acting weird the past two days. Same with Skye. Something's up with the two." He lowered his voice, "Do you think that Ward got Skye pregnant?"

Bobbi's face fell, "Lance! God no!" she exclaimed. "Ward's still recovering from whatever the hell happened to him and Skye's just helping him. Don't jump to such conclusions."

"You never know with those two."

Bobbi rolled her eyes, "God…" she muttered as the two walked away.

They were right about something being wrong with Skye and Ward, but they didn't know the extent of it. But what was 'wrong' with them was just a part of them now. There was nothing they could do about it.

It was just a matter of whether the team accepted them or not.

Or whether they could control their newfound powers.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So, a nice scene between Skye and Ward where she calms him down and try to explain what she knows. And a little scene with Coulson, Hunter, and Bobbi included. I might start the next chapter where Sif comes in after the Kree and the identified Inhumans. So there's that. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	20. Chapter 20 (Release the Panic)

**Chapter Twenty (Release the Panic)**

(About a Week or So Later)

It had all gone to hell when the Asgardian Sif came back down to Earth, memory taken by an alien only known as a 'Kree'. All she knew was that this alien was after two targets on Earth, two very dangerous targets.

Sif had helped them track down the alien, Vin-Tak, but it had led to what would be a major confrontation inside of the Playground after the Kree had restored Sif's memories. And everything he had to say had to do with Skye and Ward.

"I've come to the planet to destroy the Diviners." Vin-Tak explained. "And those created by it."

"The Diviners?" Coulson asked. "I don't understand."

"He means the Obelisk, I think." Skye said. "Hydra had that information."

"And 'those created by it'. What does that even mean?"

"The Diviners do not really create them, but leaves them susceptible to the change. Terragenesis." the alien explained. "Long ago my race on our planet of Hala decided to mix our DNA with that of a human's. It created mighty warriors with incredible powers that we had at our command. But they went here to Earth. Interbred with normal humanity.

Created the descendents, which are still just as dangerous." he continued. "I intend to wipe them all out. They're monstrosities, they don't deserve to live. The Kree want them all gone."  
Ward's stomach fell, realizing that the alien was talking about what he had become. As well as Skye. He looked over to Skye, seeing that her face had grown pale.

The Kree's eyes shifted over to Skye and Ward, "And two of them are in this very room." he stated coldly.

Sif's eyes widened, "What?" she asked.

The rest of the team exchanged confused glances. They had absolutely no idea of any of this.

"Monsters." Vin-Tak spat, reaching for his hammer.

Ward started to feel himself become sick as he felt the heat start to take over, but he held it back the best he could. Skye on the other hand was a totally different story.

"W-We're not monsters!" she exclaimed, the ground starting to tremble. "We're human!"

Vin-Tak smiled grimly, "You try to convince yourself that, but it won't change a thing. You _are _a monster that must be eliminated."

"I'm not a monster!" Skye screamed, the ground giving a fierce jolt and the window behind her shattered to pieces.

The team jumped and their faces all drained of color.

"Skye?" Simmons asked, fear in her eyes.

"Skye, did you do that? Please tell me that that wasn't you." Coulson asked.

Vin-Tak sneered and pointed his hammer towards Skye, "See?" he questioned. "A monster. Nothing more, nothing less. She must be dealt with. And the man as well."

"Hold on, I'm not understanding." Hunter stated, confused by everything that was going on. "Both Skye _and _Ward are not human?"

"Sadly, he is right." Sif responded. "They must be dealt with before they get out of hand." She withdrew her sword. "Son of Coul, I am sorry."

Ward's face fell as Sif slowly approached him, sword pointed his way. The team was too shocked and afraid to do anything. The same sickening, burning feeling started to take hold that he felt when his powers were trying to control him.

"Look, I'm not a monster or anything." Ward stated, a little too harshly. "We've worked together before. You know that I'm not a monster."

"But that's when I didn't know of your true race, Inhuman." Sif responded coldly. "Now let me deal with you quick and simple."

She bolted towards him with Asgardian speed and knocked him to the ground. Pain shot through him as the air was knocked out of him. He quickly managed to back away from the warrior.

"Please stop this!" he screamed. "I won't hurt anyone!"

"I will not, creature."

Ward cringed as pain shot through him from the building fire beneath his skin. He was becoming more and more immune, but it still wasn't quite enough. "Just let me say something!" he screamed, flames jutting out and engulfing him. "I am not a damn monster!"

"What the bloody hell?" Simmons asked, her voice low and drained.

Coulson's stomach fell and he remained speechless as he looked over to May, who had the same exact, dumbfounded expression as he and the rest of the team had.

"Take a good look at yourself, monster." Vin-Tak sneered. "See yourself as these humans do."

Ward blinked and looked down at his hands, seeing that they were ablaze. He looked back up to the team, who had all stepped back from him and Skye and wore scared masks on their face, "Please, you've got to understand." he pleaded. "I-I… I-I… This is not…."

He couldn't take it anymore. He jumped up and fled the room, the flames dancing behind him.

Skye took a hesitant glance towards the team before running after Ward, "Grant, wait!" she yelled before disappearing.

Vin-Tak and Sif went to run after them, but Coulson stepped between them and the exit of the room.

"You are not going to kill my agents." he stated. "No matter what they are, they're still my agents."

"But they are monsters, they must be dealt with appropriately." Sif responded, gripping her sword. "You cannot let them run around like how they are. It's dangerous."

"And we'll deal with that." Coulson replied, not quite sure how he felt about the two agents now. "This is not your place to be trying to kill members of my team. Even if they are 'monsters'." He looked at Sif, "Sif, take Vin-Tak here back to his home planet and forget about all of this." he ordered. "I don't want anymore trouble."

"But you do not know what you are getting yourselves into." Vin-Tak said harshly. "Letting two Inhumans of that magnitude run around like that who still clearly have no control over their abilities is the highest risk you can take."

"Again, we'll deal with it. Just leave. I don't want you messing with my agents again."

* * *

(Elsewhere.)

Skye was finally able to catch up to Ward, and lucky for her his flames were gone. Ward slumped to the ground, his entire body shaky and weak. She slid down next to him, feeling the heat still radiating off of his body.

"T-They saw me…" he stuttered. "I tried so hard to keep it hidden for like the past week and a half, and I was succeeding. Now it's all down the drain and they'll probably lock me away."

"If they do that, they'll do it to me too, Grant." Skye responded, squeezing his still-hot hand. "They saw me too. The window. That was all me."

"But what you can do doesn't make you look like a monster on appearance. My powers turn me into a demon. Red eyes and fire jutting off of my skin. I _look _like a monster." Ward said, looking down. "And now I bet they're all scared of us. The alien was right, I deserve to be dead."

Skye slapped Ward's face, "Don't you dare ever say that again. You don't deserve death. Yes, we're both different, but that doesn't mean that we should be dead." she stated harshly. "And don't lead yourself down such a dark path. You've done that before and you know its consequences.

But I don't know what would happen now. Those flames seem to control you. Especially the other day when you tried to use them. You lost it. Like a demon took over your body." she continued. "I don't want to know what a mix of that and a dark mind will create.

We've got each other and that's all that matters. Hell, our friends may not even accept us anymore, but we…. We still have each other. Let's just see what happens. I'm just as scared as you are, Grant. Fitz was the only one that knew and he took it okay."

"Skye, we're not like them anymore." Ward said solemnly. "We don't belong here. Not in a place where everything alien is deemed as an immediate threat. Especially these days. I don't know if we'll be able to stay here much longer."

"I see where you're going at, Grant. But they're our friends." Skye said, scooting closer to his cooling body. "We can't leave them behind. Let's just wait, and at the first sign of any trouble we'll leave. Okay?"

"Fine." Ward muttered. "But I don't think that things are going to go well. I just feel it. Something bad is coming and it's not us."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So, I changed a few things up and Ward's the one to really freak out, not Skye. Coulson defends them from Vin-Tak (I don't remember that being his name, but it is.) and Sif, but that doesn't mean worse things are to come in terms of tensions. And I am going into the SHIELD v/s SHIELD thing and maybe the other Inhumans. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! (Can we make it to 107?) ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	21. Chapter 21 (Before I'm Buried Beneath)

**Chapter Twenty-One (Before I'm Buried Beneath)**

(Sometime into the SHIELD v/s SHIELD Event)

"Skye, I knew that it would come to something like this." Ward said, looking at Skye who sat along with him on the edge of his bed.

"To what?"

"Being afraid for our lives. You see how Morse and Mack look at us. Something's up here. And that Gonzales guy. He's no good." Ward replied, squeezing Skye's hand. "I'm not even sure what's going on here."

"But why would we be fearing for our lives?" Skye asked, frowning.

"I overheard Morse and Mack one day." Ward started. "I heard them calling us 'threats' and 'things that need to be dealt with'. I think they're planning on doing something to us."

"What? Why? We've never done anything to them."

"Yes, but they're afraid us just because we're different. Even the others. They've treated us differently ever since Sif came and our powers were exposed." Ward went on. "They probably think us as monsters."

"They wouldn't," Skye began, but Ward stood to his feet, cutting her off.

"Skye, think. They've been avoiding us. Hesitant of us. Hell, I don't even think that we can call them friends anymore." Ward took a breath, "I don't even want to stay here anymore. How can I stay here when everyone avoids me? They're afraid of us simply because they don't understand this.

So what if I can create fire of of nowhere? So what if you can make earthquakes happen? If they were really our friends and our teammates, they wouldn't treat us any differently."

Skye got up, "Grant, I don't see where you're getting that from." she said. "Yes, they're hesitant around us, but not to the extent you're making it out to be. You're overexaggerating."

Ward scoffed. "Sure. But it affects you differently. Try having an ability that makes you look like a monster. Yours is invisible, mine isn't. Even when I get the slightest bit irritated, my eyes turn red.

That doesn't keep allies. That makes people afraid of you. And I'm tired of it. I'm ready to leave. I don't know about you, but you can stay here for all I care." he continued. "'Cause I'm sick of this hell."

Ward turned around to leave the room, but Skye came up and placed a hand on his shoulder. He took a breath and looked at her, a muscle twitching in his face, "What the hell is it now?" he growled. Again, his skin was heating up.

"Grant, just take a breather. If I can deal with this crap, then you can too. Just give it some time and don't go running now." she said, looking firmly in his eyes. "It's going to take a while until people are used to us. We're different, and it's something to get used to.

Don't go running when it gets tough, try to stick it out. It'll get better in time. I promise."

Ward blinked and looked down, "Are you really sure about that, Skye?" he asked. "'Cause I'm not. I want out of here."

"I'm sure. And don't stay here for the others, stay here for me."

He took a long, deep breath, "Fine. But just for you. But at the first sign of trouble, I'm out of here."

"I'm sure that we'll be fine."

But she was wrong.

* * *

(Sometime Later)

"Just where the hell are you taking us, Coulson?" Ward asked impatiently from the back of the jet that Coulson was flying.

"Somewhere safe." Coulson replied quickly.

Skye's face fell, "Somewhere safe?" she asked. "Why do we need to be taken somewhere safe?"

"You two being at the base right now isn't the best thing. Gonzales and his _allies _are getting worse and have deemed you two as a threat." Coulson explained.

Ward stood up suddenly and headed to the front of the jet, "Wait, are you taking us somewhere else?" he asked. "Are you making us leave?"

Coulson turned around in the pilot's chair to look at Ward, "Yes, in a way. But this is for your safety and for ours."

"I bet mostly yours."

Coulson shook his head, "Ward, you two are in danger if you stay at the base. Gonzales wants you two locked up and potentially gone. You can't stay there. Where I'm taking you is much better than staying."

"Where is this place anyways?" Ward asked, getting mad.

"It's a safehouse SHIELD has used." Coulson replied. "Off the radar so Gonzales won't find you hopefully."

Skye came up as well, "A safehouse?" she asked.

"Away from civilization as well, just in case,"

"What? That either of us lose control?" Ward cut in.

Coulson raised an eyebrow, "Yes, in case of that." he stated. "Ward, this isn't against you or anything of that nature. Last time I checked, you two couldn't control your abilities. This is to be on the safe side.

Ward, I trust you, but I do not trust Gonzales. If he somehow comes knocking, I don't want there to be a scene."

Ward looked down and didn't say a word. Skye took Ward by the arm and led him to the back of the jet, leaving Coulson to himself.

"Look, Grant, Coulson's trying to do the right thing here. If we're really in danger like he says, then this is the best way to go right now. Until everything clears up." she explained to him.

"And besides, if we're alone, we can work on taming these powers. You've had more success than I have had."

"I never asked for any of this." Ward said. "I thought when I changed the future by killing Garrett and denouncing my loyalty to him, I was good. I didn't think that anything bad would happen to me. But no.

I get shot, I almost die, and I turn into this." He looked Skye in the eyes. "I led myself into an even deeper hell than I stopped myself from going into."

Skye slapped Ward on the face, "Do not talk like that, Grant." she said harshly. "We are not in a hell. And I think this is way better than being our mortal enemy. Just wait it out, It'll get better. Don't drag yourself down like this."

Ward sighed and sat back down, burying his face in his hands, "I don't know what to think anymore, Skye." he said. "We're not human in a world that hates things that are different. And we have nowhere to go to other than a supposed SHIELD 'safehouse'."

Skye sat back down beside him, "Grant, we've got each other. And I think that's all that matters at this point. As long as we keep each other safe and sound, we'll be perfectly okay."

He looked back to her, and then glanced to Coulson who was completely oblivious to the conversation, "I suppose that you're right." he said. "I just don't like any of this."

"I don't either, but we just have to push through it. It'll get better in time. As long as nothing else happens to us beforehand."

"Don't say things like that."

"Well, it's the truth."

"And that's what I am afraid of. Skye, something's going to happen to us, and it's not going to be good. I don't know why I feel this way, but I think something's going to happen."

"Then you better be wrong."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Sorry for the short chapter, not sure of what to write anymore. So Ward's getting fed up and they're being taken to the safehouse. And I'm not actually sure how to keep this fic going on anymore, I might have to wrap it up soon somehow. (If you've got suggestions, please tell me.) Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	22. Chapter 22 (Who We Are)

**Chapter Twenty-Two (Who We Are)**

(About Two Days Later)

"Grant, do you think that it's okay to go outside?" Skye asked, looking over to Ward who sat on the couch of the safehouse reading a book. "I'm tired of being in here."

Ward set down his book, "Well, considering that this is a secure location with no one for miles around, yes." he replied. "And Coulson said we can go outside. As long as you don't cause any big earthquakes or me with forest fires."

Skye rolled her eyes and smirked, "Remember, only you can prevent wildfires." she joked. "Come on, we'll be fine. Just for a little while."

Ward sighed and got up from the couch, "I swear we better not be here for forever." he muttered, following Skye out of the cabin. "I hope that Coulson knows what he's doing with sending us here."

"I think he does, Grant. And it's only until this whole thing with Gonzales cools down. We'll be fine." Skye said, dragging him along.

"But what if he comes?" Ward asked. "How do we fight without causing a massive scene? Last time I checked, you couldn't exactly control your powers."

"I've been trying." Skye said, stopping. "But it's hard when you have no clue how to. And what about you?" she asked. "Can you even control those flames, hothead?"

Ward smirked, "Like you said, it's hard." he replied. "I've tried. But it tries to take control of me. I almost lost it before Coulson had us sent here." He held out his hand towards Skye. He clenched it and a small flame appeared in his palm.

"It's not much, but it's the most I can do without losing control." he continued. "It'll take some time."

Skye stared in awe at the small flame in Ward's hand, "But Grant, that's still amazing. A whole lot better seeing like this than when you're going crazy from it. Remind me next time Coulson comes to check in on us to get him to bring us some marshmallows."

Ward frowned, letting the flame burn out, "What for?" he asked.

Skye smiled, "To roast them. We've got the fire right here." she said, poking his chest.

"Skye, you're not roasting marshmallows on me." Ward said sharply. "I am not the human toaster."

"It's still an idea."

"Skye, we've got to learn to use our powers to help protect us. Not for recreation. Do you want to be roasting marshmallows in my palm when Gonzales or Hydra comes out of nowhere trying to capture us?" he asked. "We have to be able to fight back, not cook things on me."

"Again, it's still a good idea. Look, you managed to light the fireplace last night. It's a skill. It doesn't have to be a weapon." Skye continued. "But your flames have more uses than whatever it is I can do.

Fire is warmth and light. Two basic things for life in this world. It'll help you survive in this world. What can my powers do other than destroy?" she asked.

Ward took Skye's hand, "Skye, fire is destructive too. I destroyed my childhood home with fire. Yeah, it's ironic for now, but it's still destruction. And they control me as well, make me a demon.

Fire is not just light and warmth, it's destruction and hell as well. It just depends on how you choose to use it. And I don't think I'm capable of light and warmth, only destruction."

Skye reached out for Ward's face, "Grant, don't put that on yourself. You're capable than being more than a monster. You've protected the team many times over, especially by choosing us over Garrett.

You do have light inside of you and it's as bright as the fire that burns from you." she continued, wrapping her arms around him. "You're not the bad guy."

Ward buried his head in Skye's hair, "I know that. I just feel so out of place when the team no longer trusts us because we're not human. I feel like the bad guy because of that. It's like we're the villains in this case." he went on.

"Grant, we just can't be around because of Gonzales possibly wanting us dead." Skye replied. "And besides, I like it better when it's just the two of us, hothead."

"Stop calling me hothead."

"What else do you want me to call you?" Skye asked. "Charizard?"

"Who?"

"Never mind. Just forget that I mentioned that." Skye said with a slight groan. "But we have each other's backs in this whole damn mess. And I think I like it this way. Just us two against whatever the world can throw at us."

Ward kissed the top of her head, "Now you're just getting sappy." he laughed.

"And I'm the sappy one?" she asked, looking up at her boyfriend. "You get extremely sappy. Like every single day. Even Simmons has said so. You get so head over heels for me."

Ward blushed, "I-I do not." he stammered.

Skye laughed, noticing his body temperature rising from his embarrassment. "Whatever, Sparky." she said, smiling.

Ward raised an eyebrow, "Sparky?" he asked.

"Couldn't think of anything else. And I'm still going to get those marshmallows sooner or later. I think I should do it when everything clears up. I think Fitz and Hunter would join us."

"Don't you dare."

Skye smiled, "Oh, I will."

Ward only glared at her, until an unfamiliar voice startled them and directing their attention elsewhere.

"This is rare indeed. Two newly changed. And they're in love with each other."

Skye and Ward turned to see a man coming towards them. Their stomachs fell when they saw that the man had no eyes at all. Ward clenched his fist, making it erupt into fire.

"Who the hell are you?" he growled.

The eyeless man threw his hands up as he came closer, "I come as a friend, I do not intend to hurt the either of you. No need to burn me."

"How do you see that?" Skye asked, backing away from the man. "Who are you?"

"My name is Gordon. Like I said, I am a friend. I come offering help for the two of you."

"Why do you think that we need help?" Ward asked, pointing at the man with his hand that was ablaze. "We're perfectly fine where we are."

"But in time you won't be."

"What?"

"You heard what I said."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Sorry for such the short chapter, I really don't know what to write anymore. I'm running out of ideas for this. Any suggestions? Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	23. Chapter 23 (Walk Away)

**Chapter Twenty-Three (Walk Away)**

Gordon repeated his statement and further elaborated. "In time you won't be okay here." he said. "For you two to be alone like this isn't a good thing for either of you."

Muscles twitched in Ward's face as he slowly approached the eyeless man, "What the hell are you talking about?" he growled. "We're perfectly fine here by ourselves."

Skye saw pain growing in Ward's blood-red eyes as his flames grew. She knew that he couldn't control flames that size without losing it. He had said it himself not too long ago that it was hard for him to control just a little bit. And his anger was growing as well.

Gordon held up his hands again, "I am not here to hurt you, like I said. I am only here to offer my help." he said. "And you better stop it before those flames consume you."

Ward snarled and slung the flames in his hand towards the man, but Gordon disappeared in a flash of blue light. The flames went through the light and hit a tree, igniting it.

"That won't work with me."

Ward spun around to see Gordon standing between him and Skye, Skye's eyes as wide as saucers. "Who the hell are you?!" Ward hissed, the fire growing and growing.

The man smiled, "Again, I am a friend. Why won't that settle in your head? I do not intend to hurt you." he repeated.

"You're bothering me." Ward spat.

"Grant, please." Skye began. "At least let him say why he's here. We don't know why he's here. He's not Gonzales, he's not going to arrest us." She looked to the burning tree, "Calm down."

A muscle twitched in Ward's face and he crossed his arms, the flames still blazing. The anger still blazed in his red eyes. It was obvious that he was fighting to keep control, but he didn't want to do anything in case Gordon tried something.

Skye looked back to Gordon, "Now, why are you here?" she asked. "Where are you from?"

"I won't disclose that right now, but I promise that it is a good place." he replied. "For people like us."

Skye raised an eyebrow, "'People like us'?" she asked. "Now, what is that?"

"Again, I won't say that right now. But people of our bloodline, those with powers." he explained. "Of the same race. But this place is a safe haven for our kind."

"Safe haven?"

"Where people like SHIELD won't try to capture you. And a place where you can learn to control your powers." Gordon turned his head towards Ward who had let the flames extinguish. "Especially that one."

"I don't need anybody to help me." Ward spat, coming closer again. "Especially from an eyeless freak like you. Get the hell out of here. Skye and I are perfectly fine here with just ourselves."

Gordon frowned, "That's just what I'm talking about."

Skye looked down and looked to her boyfriend, "I think we're fine here so far. SHIELD isn't a threat to us. They're protecting us. This is a SHIELD-sanctioned safehouse."

Gordon let out a laugh, "Sure they are." he said. "But whatever you say. The offer's still open."

"It sounds nice, but I think that we're fine here." Skye stated. "Grant and I… We need more time to ourselves."

Gordon nodded, "I will honor that request. Like I said, the offer is still open. If you ever need me, just call. I'll come." he said. He disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"What the hell was that?" Ward growled.

"I don't know, but he seemed nice." Skye said. "Grant, there are other people like us. We're not alone in this world."

"I don't care about that eyeless freak. SHIELD still has our back, as long as they keep Gonzales off of our backs." Ward said lowly. "We're perfectly fine here."

"I know that, Grant. But at least try to control that anger of yours. That Gordon guy didn't even try to hurt us and you went ballistic. You told me that you couldn't control your powers much and you went too far." She pointed to the still-burning tree, "If you went any further, you would've completely lost yourself."

Ward face fell as he realized what Skye was saying, "Skye… I was just trying to protect you…" he said quietly. "It's just that it tries to control me, I didn't mean to go that far."

Skye approached him and wrapped her arms around him, "Grant, again, I know that. I'm just afraid that one of these days you'll go way too far and get someone killed." she said.

Ward looked down and pushed Skye away, "Skye, I… I can't deal with this right now. I need some time to think." he said, walking away.

Skye watched in worry as Ward walked into the trees and disappeared from her sight. She knew that the man was struggling with everything way worse than she was.

She sighed and went back towards the cabin, hoping that Ward's alone time would clear the man's mind.

* * *

(Later)

Ward walked through the trees surrounding the lake. His head hurt from the ordeal from earlier. His powers messed with his head and made it hard to think. Skye was right, he had to learn to control his anger.

But he couldn't help it, it was automatic. And once it was released, there was no stopping it. It was a relentless flood of rage. And his flames only made it worse. He was afraid that he would end up hurting someone sooner or later.

He sighed and sat on a rock next to the water and stared at his reflection in the glass-like surface. His hair was messed up from earlier, sticking up at various angles. He ran a hand through it to straighten it out. He scratched as his beard as his eyes searched the ground.

Spotting a rock, he picked it up and rolled it around in his hand. He thought for a minute before clenching his fist to create a small fire to ignite the sand-like rock. He threw it into the water, the flame going out with a sharp hiss.

He looked back down, knowing that would be the most he could do for a while without losing a hold of himself. Despite his powers, Ward felt weak. He knew that he couldn't do much.

All he wanted to do was to protect Skye in case anything threatened them. Yes, Skye was capable of doing it herself, but Ward had vowed to do whatever to protect the woman he loved. He swore to keep things as far away from what they were in the other timeline.

He buried his head in his hands. Everything felt like it was crashing down around him, and he knew that things were only going to get worse. And he felt helpless.

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So Gordon offers to take Skye and Ward somewhere safe, but they refuse. And it's clear that Ward's suffering with everything that's going on and with the fact that he can't use his powers much without losing control to them. Not good. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	24. Chapter 24 (Farewell Dear Friends)

**Chapter Twenty Four (Farewell Dear Friends)**

(Two Days Later)

"Actually, I don't think that Coulson is ever coming back for us." Ward said, keeping his eyes on the setting sun and not looking at Skye, who stood at his side. "I mean, it's been four days and we haven't heard anything from him. He left us here to rot."

Skye looked to him and squeezed his arm, "Grant, don't say that." she said softly. "He's dealing with Gonzales, remember? We can't be in that mess. It's better that we're here by ourselves."

Ward took a sharp breath, still keeping his eyes on the sunset, "But you would think that would've heard at least something. I feel like he abandoned us."

"You know that he cares for the both of us. He'll protect us with his life." Skye continued. "He's just busy, that's all."

Ward shook his head and pulled away from Skye, "Skye, they didn't care for us anymore once they found out we were different." he said. "We're outcasts, and we were treated as such."

"You have a little bit of a point, Grant, but you're over exaggerating. This whole thing Coulson planned is to protect us." Skye said, rubbing her wrist. "You're being super-paranoid."

Ward's eyes narrowed, "I'm not being paranoid, I'm worried about real things, Skye! I really think that Coulson abandoned us!" he exclaimed. "Face it, he's not coming back for us!"

Skye blinked and her face fell, "Grant, what's gotten into you?" she asked. "'Cause you're not acting like yourself at all. What's wrong with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me." Ward hissed. "There's something wrong with you."

Skye's eyes widened, "Oh, really?" she questioned. "'Cause the Grant I know would never treat me like this. Something's wrong with you. You've got a hellish temper and you've been extremely depressed and jumpy lately. Something's screwing with your head." she explained. "If there's something bothering you, you can tell me.

Grant, I love you. I do. I want you to be okay, but you are far from that right now." she continued. She approached him and took his hand. "You can tell me. What's wrong?"

Ward's eyes drifted to the ground and a pained look filled his face, "Skye, I know it's been what? Several weeks since that day? I don't know. I would've thought that the pain would be gone by now."

Skye's face fell, "Pain?" she asked.

"Like my insides are burning. It won't go away. It's off and on all day, every single damn day." A pained light shown in his eyes, "And all of it's messing with my head, Skye. It's hell inside of it." he muttered. "Sometimes… Sometimes I feel like dying. Whatever happened to us completely screwed with me. I don't know what to do, Skye."

"Oh, Grant." Skye said softly, realizing that Ward had become completely broken down by that day. Whatever had happened to them had taken a bigger toll on him than it had done on her.

She wrapped her arms around his body. Ward did the same and brought her close, burying his face in her sweet-smelling hair.

"Skye, please help me." he mumbled. "I-I don't know what to do."

"Of course I will, Grant. We're stuck here together." Skye replied. "You'll be fine, I promise."

"Are you sure?" he asked, face still in her hair. "'Cause I feel like it won't. I don't know what to think anymore. I thought that I was done with going through hell once I killed Garrett. I-I didn't think that any of this would even ever happen."

"Things don't always go the way you plan them, Grant." Skye said softly, pulling away from him. She looked up at him, "You just have to push through the hells that life throws at you."

Ward smiled slightly, "That's deep. Coming from you." he said.

Skye smiled back, "I like to get philosophical sometimes." she joked. "But still, you'll be fine. There's nothing to worry about."

Ward blinked and looked off to the side, "Then why do I feel like there's a war brewing?" he asked.

Skye raised an eyebrow, "You're being paranoid again." she said. "There's no war coming. No battle. Coulson will be back for us soon and everything will be okay. I promise."

And she was far from wrong.

* * *

(The Next Day)

Ward's eyes snapped open to the sound of approaching jets. He looked over to Skye who laid beside him on the bed. Her eyes opened and she looked over in confusion at him.

"Are those jets?" she asked. She sat up, "Could it be Coulson?"

Ward sat up and frowned, "No, he himself would just come. One jet. That sounds like multiple ones." he replied. "I don't think that it's Coulson."

Skye's face fell, "Then who would it be?" she asked, voice lowered.

"Probably the guy that Coulson was protecting us from." Ward stated, coming to his feet. "I was right, a war was brewing. And this means that something's happened to Coulson or the team. Probably both."

Skye's face fell, "W-What do we do?" Fear began inching its way into her voice.

"Stay here. I'll deal with them. Whoever they are." Ward said firmly.

"I am not staying here while you march to your death!" Skye exclaimed. "I'm tired of sitting back while you do everything! And you can't even use your powers without almost going crazy.

If it really is Gonzales, then there's going to be at least two dozen armed men out there. If you lose control with that many people attacking you… It's not going to be pretty." she continued. "I don't think that there will be no stopping you this time. And I know that you don't want to kill those people."

Ward swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat, "Skye, I don't want you getting hurt. It's better for you to hide and for me to get killed than the other way around. It's better me than you." That same pained light was starting to form in his eyes.

"Grant, no. You are not going to sacrifice your damn self for me! Stop trying to be the sacrificial lamb or whatever. I want you to live! This isn't the way to go, we'll both fight. And we'll both get out of here alive. And we both can be together."

A loud boom sounded from somewhere nearby outside and Ward's head shot to the door.

"Skye, I already thought I lost you once. And I couldn't handle it. If you die now, with how I am, I don't know what will happen to me." His voice was low and cold. "Again, it's better me than you. You're not the monster, I am.

I don't care whether I live or die. But I do care if you do. Stay here and hide, Skye. Survive. I'm going… I'm going to protect you. I can't lose you again."

Tears started to form in Skye's eyes as she heard shouting from somewhere outside, "Grant, don't do this. Don't be so stupid! We'll fight together."

A tremor shook Ward's body and his head whipped around, revealing that his eyes were blood-red once again, "Do what I say, Skye." he said, pain in his voice. "Survive. Live for me. No one cares if I live or die. I love you, Skye. I always will. And I'm going to protect you."

Skye had started to sob by now, "Grant, please…" But she knew that it would be useless to argue with him. His flames had already started to take control. She gulped, "I love you too."

A small flicker of a smile appeared on his face and then it faded. "Hide." He growled. And with that, he was out of the door. Gone.

And Skye couldn't help but fall to her knees, sobbing violently as her powers began to make the ground shake. She knew that Ward wouldn't be making it back alive.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. I am so sorry for the wait on this! The finale threw me for a loop and I didn't know what to write for a long time. But I'm getting something now. And at least I have the events to the end of the season now. So... Ward's trying to sacrifice himself for Skye. It's obviously not going to go well. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	25. Chapter 25 (Please, Don't Leave Me)

**Chapter Twenty-Five (Please, Don't Leave Me)**

Ward stormed out of the cabin, his anger flaring up once again. His mind was only set on one thing. And that one thing was to protect Skye at all costs. He didn't know who really was attacking them, but his only guess was Gonzales. Trying to get them for who they were.

The sound of the jets were gone, so that only meant that Gonzales' forces had already landed nearby. Ward stopped, listening for any strange sounds. He cocked his head towards the wooded area, freezing as he heard the frantic rustle of leaves. Not wildlife. Soldiers.

He clenched his fists, letting the fire erupt and travel up the lengths of his arms. There was no way that he would be able to control it for very long. He knew it would be a matter of time until the flames controlled him once again. So he had to make quick work out of getting rid of the soldiers. And maybe, just maybe he would get to see Skye once more.

Walking slowly towards the treeline, Ward surveyed the area. He would attack at the first signs of any soldiers. His only instinct was to get Skye out of here alive. He knew that she wanted to fight for herself, but he didn't want to lose her. Not again. Not again.

Ward went into the trees, letting the fire die out on his arms so the trees wouldn't catch on fire. Hearing a noise, he slunk behind a tree and watched as an armed soldier came by.

Without thinking, Ward shot out towards the man, grabbing him by the neck. Flames flared and the soldier began to scream as his skin started to bubble and blister from the heat. Ward threw the man aside as the flames overtook his body and burnt him to a crisp.

The dying out screams of the soldier only alerted other soldiers. Ward knew this because he heard the shouts of the others. His face contorted into a snarl as he let the flames overtake him arms once more.

He stormed out into the clearing towards the sounds of the yelling soldiers. The treeline dissipated as the soldiers came into his line of sight. Ward stopped as the group, at least eight of them, surrounded him.

He looked at every single one of them, staring them down with the demonic, red light in his eyes. A few of the soldiers became startled at the red light emanating from Ward's eyes, along with the fire dancing off of his arms.

One of the soldiers looked at the others and then back to Ward. He pointed his gun towards the Inhuman and yelled, "Open fire!"

Ward managed to encase himself in flame just as the bullets started to fly. A growl rumbled in his chest as the anger overtook him. He lunged at one soldier, attacking him in the same way as the other from earlier.

The soldiers only continued their fire, and increased it as well. But that didn't do a single thing to Ward. The bullets only burnt up in the heat of the flames and didn't even reach Ward at all. But it only made him angrier, which only made things worse for the soldiers.

"Leave us alone!" Ward screamed, attacking two soldiers at the same time.

Their screams intermingled as the both burned together. That only left five soldiers. Soldiers in which were starting to grow really afraid of Ward.

"Should we call it off?" one of them asked.

"No!" another screamed. "Gonzales told us to bring them in at any costs!"

"But four of us are already dead! This is insane!"

"Leave us alone!" Ward screamed again, slinging a fireball at another soldier, causing him to be incinerated.

The four remaining soldiers looked at each other and dropped their weapons, taking off in the direction opposite of Ward.

Ward's body shuttered as the flames disappeared. He looked at the remains of the four dead soldiers, feeling no empathy for them. They were trying to kill him, so what was the big deal?

He turned to go back for Skye, thinking that everything was better. But a loud shot rang out and something ripped through his chest. Ward's eyes widened in pain and he screamed out as he fell to the ground.

Shot. He had been shot. Blood started to pool from his chest and onto the grass below him. His eyes looked towards the cabin way off in the distance, seeing a distorted shape running towards him.

"Grant! Grant!" it cried. "Grant!"

"S-Skye…." Ward croaked out, reaching a hand out towards her. But it dropped as blackness overtook his vision.

The quiet dark.

* * *

Skye came running as soon as the firefight had begun. She didn't want to leave Ward alone, fighting by himself to protect the both of them. But she heard his scream just as she got a ways from the cabin.

She saw his body fall as she began to run faster and faster. "Grant! Grant!" she cried out. "Grant!"

Skye reached his body and fell down beside him. She started to shake him, "Grant!" she exclaimed. "Wake up, Grant!"

But the blood only continued to flow faster. He was alive, but his heartbeat was fading fast. She knew that he had been shot straight through the chest, but she didn't know with what.

"Grant, please… Wake up…"

The rustle of leaves jerked her attention to the woods and she saw several more soldiers coming out of the trees, guns pointed towards her and Ward. Anger started to well up in her chest as she came to her feet.

"Don't you know the meaning of private property?" she asked through tears.

"We have orders to bring two gifteds in." one soldier responded. "No matter what. So we're not going to listen to you."

A muscle twitched in Skye's face, "Get the hell out of here." she hissed.

"No. We're bringing you and your dying matchstick in." the same soldier retorted. "So stand down and get to your knees."

Something in Skye just snapped. She thrusted her hands out towards the soldiers and a shockwave was sent towards them. It threw them into the treeline and even knocked down several trees as well with a deafening roar and rumble.

Skye fell back to her knees, shocked by what she had just done, and crawled over to Ward's bleeding-out body. She took him in her arms, not caring that his blood was beginning to stain her.

She began to sob, the ground shaking with each breath. "Help!" she screamed. "Someone help!" She knew that no one would hear her, but for some reason screaming helped her.

"Someone please help!"

There was a sudden flash of blue light and a man was standing in front of them. The same eyeless man from a few days before. Gordon. A soft, sad smile filled his face, "You called?" he asked.

Skye didn't know what to say, but only looked back to Ward's bleeding body. "Please help." she muttered.

Gordon nodded, "And I can do that." he replied. He looked to Ward's body, "And fast as well."

The next thing Skye knew was them being enveloped in a bright, blue light and then they were gone. Away from the so-called 'safe house'.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So, yeah, there you go. Not gonna explain much. And sorry if the story is getting choppy, running out of fuel for this one. And I have to still do the SHIELD- Inhuman battle. It'll be short though. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	26. Chapter 26 (Survive, Paranoid)

**Chapter Twenty-Six (Survive, Paranoid)**

(Sometime Later)

Skye awoke with a jolt, not knowing what was going on. She looked around, finding herself in a strange room filled with too many candles to count. And she looked to her body, finding herself covered with a white sheet and acupuncture needles sticking out of her. And was she _naked_?

"What the hell?!" she exclaimed.

"Hey, you might want to calm down." came a soft, calm voice.

Skye frowned and looked to her left to see a young, blond man with a slight beard coming up to her. "Who are you and where the hell am I?" she demanded.

The man smiled slightly. "I'm Lincoln, a transitioner here at Afterlife. Gordon brought you here after you called for help. This is an Inhuman safehaven." He gestured to the needles in Skye's body, "Those are to help stabilize your powers so they don't get out of hand. I think you're okay now." He pointed to the table next to her, "Those are your clothes. I'll take the needles out and leave you long enough so you can get dressed."

Skye nodded hesitantly, but Lincoln seemed to be nice enough. He began to take the large, yet thin needles out of her and place them on a tray.

"Skye, isn't it?" he asked.

All she could do was nod.

"Good." he replied with a slight smile. "You're done now. You can get dressed and I'll be right back." Lincoln quickly left the room.

Skye narrowed her eyes and got up, reaching for her clothes. "Weird." she muttered. "But I guess Gordon kept his promise. But what the hell is an Inhuman?" She slipped her clothes back on and went to open the door for Lincoln. "I'm done."

"Good. I imagine you have a lot of questions." he said, nodding his head as he came in. "You were out for a while. So was that guy that was with you."

The memory came rushing back to Skye all too fast. Her eyes widening as she remembered Ward being shot, "Grant." She looked at Lincoln, "Is he okay?!"

He nodded softly, "He's been in the care of our best healers for a few hours now. He sure does heal fast. I checked on him in case you ended up asking about him. He's fine."

"How long have we been here?"

"About five hours. I don't know what caused you to fall unconscious." Lincoln replied. "I can take you to Grant if you want. He's just down the hall, but I don't know whether he's awake or not. But they'll let him sit with you until he does so."

Skye couldn't help but smile at Lincoln's caring grin. She nodded, "I would like that." she replied.

Lincoln nodded in response, "Follow me." he said, leading Skye out of the room.

Skye followed the man down a corridor and she surveyed her surroundings. There really wasn't any windows for her to look out of , but the halls had an ornate look and feel to them. They almost felt safe and warm for some reason.

He led her to a set of doors and opened them for her, she walked in and he closed the doors, leaving her to herself. Skye looked to see Ward sleeping peacefully on a bed opposite of her. His shirt was off and a massive bandage covered his torso.

A woman by the beside, who seemed to mixing medicine, looked up at her and smiled, "You must be Skye." she said. She pointed to the chair next to Ward's bed, "You can sit. I don't know when he'll be awake though."

Skye nodded and went to sit down, "Thank you." she said in response. She kept her eyes on Ward, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest while ignoring the woman that must've been one of the healers that Lincoln talked about.

And Ward looked so peaceful.

* * *

(An Hour Later)

Ward jerked awake, fighting the air with his hands, the remnants of a nightmare fading.

"Grant! Calm down!" he heard a voice yell.

He blinked to see Skye standing over him, a spot on the ceiling smoking. He must've accidentally sent a flame that way. Skye smiled at him.

"Hey, big guy. Good to see you alive."

Ward narrowed his eyes as he went to sit up, cringing in pain, "Alive? What happened? Should I be dead?" he asked.

"Gonzales tried to get us and you were shot, through the chest." Skye explained.

Ward's eyes widened, "Through the chest?" he questioned. "Then how am I alive? Where the hell are we?"

Skye shrugged, "I really don't know. Gordon brought us here after you were shot. I called out for his help and he kept his promise." she explained. "I heard it called 'Afterlife'. But I don't know the location."

Ward nodded and shifted, finding his torso wrapped in a massive bandage. "But how am I alive?" he asked.

"Healers. And you apparently heal pretty fast." Skye replied. "That's what someone I met said. I was out for a while and he checked on you in case I woke up asking for you."

Ward nodded, "Guess they know us pretty well, 'cause that does sound like you." he laughed slightly, ignoring the pain in his chest and back. "It's nice to know that you care about me."

"You're just now figuring that out, dumbass?" Skye retorted. "We've been through enough together that you should know that and you are my _boyfriend_, aren't you?" she asked.

Ward blushed, becoming flustered. And Skye wasn't sure whether it was from his powers or he was just plain embarrassed. "Well, uh, yeah, I guess. I-I don't know." he stammered, still flustered.

Skye couldn't help but laugh, "I guess that bullet didn't really do anything to you, then." she joked. "You really are the T-1000, just with flamethrowers."

Ward narrowed his eyes, "I thought I told you to drop that name long ago, Skye." he stated.

Skye shrugged, "I can call you whatever I want." she replied. But then her face fell, "Oh my God, Coulson. Does Coulson know that we're gone?"

Ward's eyes widened and he shook his head, "I don't know." he replied. "But if he does, then they're going berserk. And I don't know where we are, so that's no help to us now."

"Maybe, once you're fully better, we can get out of wherever the hell here is and get back to them." Skye said. "I don't want them worrying for too long. And maybe the Gonzales thing will be done by the time we leave here."

"I hope so."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Sorry for the wait, confused where to go with this. But Skye meets Lincoln in the same creepy way. And Ward's okay from his gunshot wound. But they're worried about the team now, will everything be okay? Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	27. Chapter 27 (We'll Raise Them High)

**Chapter Twenty-Seven (We'll Raise Them High)**

(Two Days Later)

"So, Skye, how are you two enjoying Afterlife?"

Skye blinked, watching the Chinese woman in front of her and Ward. The woman had scars all over her face, but had a gentle, caring smile. But she had never told them her name, so it was kind of strange.

Skye slightly nodded, "It's fine. Strange in a few ways." Her eyes glanced over to Ward who stood in a corner with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face, "Him, not so much."

"I want to leave." Ward grumbled. "I've been cooped up here long enough."

"Grant, you were bed-ridden for a day. This is your first day up and walking around. You better be glad that that wound's healed up and fast too." Skye stated, frowning at him. "Enjoy the fresh air and the fact that no one's trying to kill us at the moment."

Ward rolled his eyes and grumbled once more in response.

The woman laughed and looked back to Skye, "I assume you two are close, yes?" she questioned.

Skye blushed slightly, "You could say that." she replied, looking over to Ward once again. "More like we're dating." Skye raised an eyebrow, "And who are you to be asking these questions?" she asked. "You never even told us your name. You just came in here and started talking."

"Oh, forgive me. My name is Jiayang." she replied. "I'm technically in charge here in Afterlife. It slipped my mind to introduce myself. It's not every day when two Inhumans show up here. It's rare to even just get one. Well, one showed up here a few weeks ago. Poor girl, she was completely changed.

I imagined the race was explained to you two." Jiayang continued. "Well, I hope so."

Skye's mind floated back to Sif and the Kree, "More or less. More like we were about to be killed by an Asgardian." she explained. "It was messy. We had a team back with SHIELD, more like a family. But after that incident, our powers were exposed and they grew afraid of us."

"And they threw us out in the woods to 'protect us'." Ward spat. "Even though it was nice just to be with Skye, I couldn't help feel like they abandoned us. Then some guy fighting with our Director came and tried to kill us. That's when I was shot and that eyeless guy showed up."

"Ah, Gordon. He's about the best help we can get around here." Jiayang replied with a smile. "But don't worry here, no one will try to kill you. Well, there's a few that are a little on the wild side, but you really don't need to worry."

"I freaking hope so." Ward muttered.

Jiayang studied Ward for a minute before continuing. "Still, here you'll learn how to control your powers without losing control or anything like that. And you'll be taken care of."

Ward looked up, his face starting to light up slightly, "Without losing control?" he questioned.

"I take it that you've had a bad experience then." Jiayang stated. "You're not alone though, most of the new ones lose control at one point."

"But probably not like me." Ward continued. "I completely lose it, mentally. It's like some kind of demon, a monster. And I can't help it. It's driving me mad. And a few times to the point where I've wanted to die."

Jiayang's face fell at Ward's statement, "Well, we can work through that. I'll personally be seeing over the both of you to see how well you do. First, I'd like to see your powers firsthand. Skye, let's start with you."

Skye blinked and nodded. She found it strange that something felt so familiar about the woman, but she couldn't exactly figure out what it was. "Okay. But what about Grant?" she asked.

"He'll stay here for the time being. I'll be with him next." Jiayang replied, heading for the door. "Shall we?"

Skye nodded once more and looked towards Ward, "Keep to yourself, Grant." she said. "Don't try to get in a fight or anything. Go and sightsee or something." She left the room with Jiayang.

Ward narrowed his eyes, staying in place. There was something strange about how that woman treated Skye. It was almost _too _nice. And it bothered him greatly. But it shrugged it off, walking out of the room and into the streets.

* * *

(SHIELD Base.)

"Sir, Skye and Ward…" Fitz began, looking at Coulson. "They're gone."

Coulson's heart skipped a beat and he stood to his feet, "What do you mean that they're gone?" he asked. "There's no way that they could've left." His face fell, "Did Gonzales get them?"

Fitz shook his head, Simmons standing right next to him. "No, sir, we don't know what _it _is. Gonzales did attack. But the perimeter video feed doesn't show him taking them. It shows Ward getting… Getting shot by some kind of gun after fighting soldiers alone.

He fell to the ground and Skye came running out of nowhere to him. Then this bright, blue light shone out of nowhere, encased them, and disappeared, taking them with it." Fitz continued. "Camera feeds show them nowhere on site."

Coulson gulped, "Show me this feed." he ordered, taking Fitz's tablet from him. He pressed play and watched the footage that the engineer just explained to him. His face fell even more and he looked up after a while, setting the tablet down. "I'll have agents sent to survey the premises. Meanwhile, I'll have a talk with Gonzales if I can."

"Sir," Simmons began.

"Simmons, I'm going to." Coulson cut in. "Skye and Ward were there for a reason, to protect them. And if Gonzales did something to them."

"I don't think it was him." Fitz stated, shaking his head. "It was something else, not Gonzales."

"Even still, I'm going to ask him a few questions." Coulson continued. "I hoped to keep them safe, not end up like this. I intend on finding them, and soon at that. We're not going to lose them for good."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So, Skye and Ward meet Jiayang and Coulson find out that they are gone. You can tell that I'm trying to wrap this fic up as fast as I can. I've been writing it for almost four months now and it needs to be finished. So the battle between SHIELD and the Inhumans will be kind of fast. So keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	28. Chapter 28 (Guns Are Loaded)

**Chapter Twenty-Eight (Guns Are Loaded)**

(Sometime Later)

Skye stood off to the side as Jiayang talked to Ward about controlling his powers. She had already worked with the older woman earlier, and she was actually pretty helpful with everything. But it would end up being an entirely different story with Ward.

The man had it way worse with his powers than she did. It was mostly because his powers tended to control him instead of him doing so. Skye already knew it was going to be a sight watching Jiayang attempt to help Ward, but she had a feeling that things might end up going downhill.

"Attempt to try and summon a small flame in your hand." Jiayang began. "According to Skye, you can't do that much without your powers beginning to control you. We don't need that right now. Let's just see what you're able to manage right now."

Ward nodded hesitantly and held out his hand. Skye watched as his hand shook a little and a fireball three inches in diameter appeared. This surprised her, because the last time he tried that it had only been a small flame. He was already improving.

"Good." Jiayang responded, nodding. "Well, that's certainly more than I expected. But don't push yourself too much. And we don't exactly know what your limit is. So there's no telling to when you can't control it anymore." Jiayang watched the fireball in Ward's hand. She looked over to Skye, "When does these 'attacks' happen?" she asked. "What kind of environment?"

Skye frowned, trying to remember. "It's usually when he's really agitated or when we're being attacked." she replied.

Jiayang nodded, "So in a hectic environment then." she said. "That might be the problem there. His weakened mental state of those moments are might what triggers the loss of control." she explained. "It's possible that he might be able to do more here since there's no immediate danger or anything. We're completely safe here. I promise."

She returned her gaze back to Ward, "Go ahead and see what you can go, Grant." she said softly. "But remember, don't go overboard too much."

Ward nodded hesitantly and his bare arm slightly shook before becoming completely engulfed in flames. Skye saw the pain building in his eyes as well as the fear. But he ended up smiling slightly as he looked over to Skye. He went ahead and ignited his other arm.

Skye stepped back slightly, in awe of the fire dancing off of her boyfriend's skin. She hadn't seen him like this with him in a normal mental state. He was usually enraged or crazed when both arms were ignited like that. She smiled at him, seeing the pain slightly fade from his eyes. But it was still oblivious that this must exertion and trying to fight back was tiring him out.

"Grant, I think that's enough for right now." Jiayang spoke up softly. "Don't want to do too much. But I think you'll be fine in a matter of time."

Ward nodded as the fire extinguished from his arms. Sweat beaded his forehead from the exertion and he was breathing heavily. "Yeah, don't want to do that again for a while." he huffed, smiling at Skye. "It's like exercise."

"Grant, you're always exercising." Skye said, rolling her eyes. "Then this shouldn't be a challenge for you."

"I mean worse than exercising." Ward reiterated. "Far worse. Try fighting back against something that's in your own body."

Jiayang laughed, "Let's return back to the buildings, we'll continue to talk from there." she said, walking forward and motioning for Skye and Ward to follow her.

The two nodded and followed behind the woman. Skye chose this moment to ask the question she wanted to know.

"So, when can we return back to the team?" she asked.

"Hmm. I'll say a few days. You need to be watched a little more." Jiayang replied. "Then you can return. I imagine that you're both worried about them."

Skye nodded and didn't say anything else. She only took Ward's hand and kept on walking.

* * *

(A Little While Later)

"You two can return to your room." Jiayang said, stopping in the middle of the village. "I assume that you two know where it's at from here, right?"

"Kind of, but we'll manage." Skye replied. "Come on, Grant."

Ward nodded and started to follow Skye until a voice cut out of the buildings, causing Skye to stop dead in her tracks. "Daisy! I knew that you would end up being here!"

Ward looked over with hostility to see Skye's father, Cal he believed, running towards Skye. This didn't make sense. How did he find her? The only way in and out of here was through Gordon.

Jiayang frowned and stepped forward, "Calvin, what the hell are you doing here?" she asked coldly. "Do I need to get someone to get you? And how the hell did you get here?"

"Aw, come on, Jiayang." Cal said. "That's no way to treat me. And I thought you liked me."

"Calvin, I'm currently busy and we've had a long day. Well, I've been busy for the past few weeks 'cause of three newly changed, which is extremely rare. And you don't need to be here." Jiayang explained, growing angry. "I will call for someone to come get you."

Cal ignored the last past and continued talking. He looked over to Skye, "So it did work then?" he asked. "That means you finally figured out who you are." His gaze drifted over to Ward and he frowned, "But I didn't think that you would survive."

"Go to hell." Ward hissed, sparks lighting up in his eyes.

Cal's eyes widened and he stepped back a bit, "Oh, a little bit on the irritable side, isn't he?" he joked.

"Leave, Calvin." Jiayang spat. "You don't need to be here. I will call for Gordon to escort you from here and back to wherever you need to go. But not here."

Cal shook his head, "I was just wanting to say hi." His gaze went from Jiayang to Skye, and back, "You haven't told her, haven't you?" he asked.

"I was waiting for a better time so I could fully make sure, Calvin." Jiayang replied. "And you know, it really isn't your place to tell her. So leave and don't come back."

"Excuse me, but what the hell is going on here?" Skye questioned, confused by whatever the hell was going on.

Cal smiled, looking at Skye, "So, Daisy, you finally decided to say something?" he asked.

"Don't call me that."

"But it is your name. But I'm just passing through, so don't pay any attention to me. I assume you and the asshole," he began, shooting a glance at the angered Ward. "Have been busy with your mother, no?"

Skye stomach churned and turned to ice as Jiayang's face fell, "What did you just say? My _what_?" she asked in disbelief.

Cal smiled, "You heard what I said." He looked to Jiayang, "Your mother…"

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So it's clear that I'm changing a lot of things for this AU, mostly so I can wrap it up soon. The next chapter will be Skye dealing with the truth and them meeting Raina. And then the next one will be them going back to the team and Coulson talking about meeting with Jiayang. So I'm trying to really speed things up. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	29. Chapter 29 (All You Remember)

**Chapter Twenty-Nine (All You Remember)**

Skye's face fell and she turned to face Jiayang, "Mother?" she asked. "This… This doesn't make any sense."

Jiayang sighed, shooting a scathing glare at Cal, "I meant to tell you, when the time was right though. I just wanted to make sure that I, and your father, were correct. I've been so busy with you two and the other newly-changed that I haven't been able to tell you." she explained. "It's been a busy, few days. I'm sorry, Skye."

Cal frowned, "Her name is Daisy." he stated.

"Yes, I know that. But it seems that she prefers Skye right now." Jiayang responded. "I'll call her what she wishes."

Skye still couldn't believe it, "But, I thought that you were dead. I thought that Hydra killed you." she said. "That's what Cal told me. What the hell is going on exactly?"

"Hydra _almost _killed me, but your father… He found me and stitched me back together per se. He went off on his own trying to find you and I came back here to Afterlife. I swore that you were dead."

Ward backed up slightly, deciding that this wasn't his conversation to be in at the moment.

Skye shook her head, "No. I was in and out of an orphanage for a majority of my childhood. No one wanted me. I eventually ran away and lived in a van for a few years." She looked over to Ward, "Until he and Coulson picked me out of it."

"You were hacking into SHIELD anyways." Ward said, speaking up. "I was just doing my job."

Skye shrugged and looked back to her mother, "I've been with SHIELD for the past few months. I stayed so I could find you and Cal. Well, Hydra led us to him. He had Hydra kidnap me, they just ended up taking Grant."

Jiayang frowned and looked over to Cal, "Why did you do that?" she asked. "If you were trying to gain the trust of our daughter, that was far from the right thing to do."

Cal shrugged and didn't respond.

"And that's when the whole Inhuman thing started, right?" Jiayang asked, returning her attention to Skye.

Skye nodded, "Whitehall got me to touch the Diviner. For some reason I was driven to run into the temple. Grant followed to try and stop me from doing so. All that got us was some weird powers." she explained.

Jiayang nodded slightly, "I wish I could've known." she responded. "I would've made it go smoother. Here, we help Inhumans go through the process smoothly so what happened to you two won't happen to them. Lincoln is one of those that help with so."

"I guess we turned out okay." Skye stated. "More or less. I don't know about the walking match over there."

Ward frowned, "Would you stop calling me that?" he asked. "It was funny at first, but not now."

"Whatever."

"Skye, it's just that," Jiayang began, but shouting from somewhere deeper into the village stopped her. She took a sharp breath, "Sounds like someone is fighting again. I'm sorry, Skye, but we'll have to talk more later. There's someone waiting back near your room that will help you out some." She looked over to Cal, "If you're going to be here, at least do something. Help me out with this."

She started to run off towards the source of the yelling, and Cal followed.

Ward came up and stood by Skye, taking her hand, "Well, that was a nice family reunion." he commented. "We better stay here so we don't get involved."

Skye sighed and looked down, "Just when I was starting to ask questions, something had to happen." she muttered. "It always goes that way."

Ward squeezed her hand, "Don't be that way, Skye." he began. "You'll get to talk to her later. We probably need to go see who this person is that's waiting for us. It better not be one of those that looks like a shark or something. We got it easy compared with others."

* * *

(A Little Later)

Skye and Ward stood outside of the building that they were staying in, waiting around for the person that Jiayang said would meet them. Ward danced on the balls of his feet in impatience.

"Where the hell is this person?" he asked. "We don't even know what they looked like. Hell, they could be invisible for all we know."

"I assure you that I'm not invisible. I'm sure that you can see me, even though it isn't the best sight. But I'm surprised though, that both of you survived."

Ward frowned, hearing a familiar voice. But he turned to see something almost unrecognizable coming towards them. It was a woman, he assumed, with huge, yellow eyes, and a head full of what seemed to be quills. He almost didn't know who it was, but something in the woman's face was too familiar.

"_Raina_?" he asked, eyes wide.

"Go ahead and stare, but I not the weirdest-looking here." she replied.

"What the hell is this?" Skye questioned. "Why the hell are you here too?"

Raina frowned, "Didn't Jiayang tell you that someone was meeting you?" she asked. "That's me."

"And doesn't she know that we really don't like each other?" Skye narrowed her eyes and looked Raina over, "You're right, Grant, we did get it easy."

Ward scratched at his stubble, deciding not to say anything.

Raina looked down for a moment before looking back at Skye, "Anyways, I didn't think that you both would survive the process." She looked at Ward, "I had my suspicions about him, it seems that I was right. And to think that you two are deeply in love."

Ward narrowed his eyes, "Hell, we should be after everything that we've been though. Why did Jiayang send you anyways?" he asked. "Why do we need to meet you?"

Shrugging, Raina sighed, "I'm not really sure." she replied. "Something about showing you two around a little more. "Jiayang's helped me a lot in the past couple of weeks, so I told her that I would help her in return."

Ward shrugged, "Whatever. I'm hoping that we can get out of here as soon as we can. Skye's really wanting to go back to the team. Jiayang said something about that we would be able to go back soon."

"She wants you to wait a few days. Make sure that the both of you are okay. It also depends on what drove you both here." Raina continued. "I came here because Gordon brought me here when I needed help."

"Pretty much the same with us. There's another force inside of SHIELD that wants us dead. We were at a safehouse when they attacked. Shot Grant. We had just recently met Gordon. I called out to him and he brought us here." Skye explained.

"If that's the case, then it may not be good for you to return until Coulson can deal with the threat." Raina responded.

"We can deal."

Raina shrugged, "Whatever you say, Skye. But trust me, it's a hell of a lot better here than going back to SHIELD in some kind of civil firestorm. There's no one after you here."

"Again, we can deal."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So Jiayang explains things and Skye and Ward reunite with Raina. Sorry if I'm getting sloppy with this fic. I'm starting to get really tired of writing it since it's been going on for so long. I'm running out of steam with it. I'll try to finish it up as best I can. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	30. Chapter 30 (Get Ready to Collide)

**Chapter Thirty (Get Ready to Collide)**

(A Few Days Later)

Gordon brought Skye and Ward into the lounge of the Bus with a flash of bright, blue light. He looked at them and nodded, "You know, I'll still come whenever you call. So I'm always available." he said.

Skye smiled, "Thank you. But I hope that we'll be good for a while. It's just our team."

"But there are always _others _that can get to you." Gordon continued. "Call if there is any trouble. I know that Jiayang will want you to do so."

"Like she said, we can deal." Ward said, wrapping an arm around Skye. "And it's not like I'm shot and bleeding out or going half-insane from rage or anything of the kind. We're good."

Gordon half-frowned and nodded briskly, "Whatever you two say. I'm still surprised that Jiayang let you two leave Afterlife so soon. I guess she trusts your judgment of this team. I hope that you're right." he said.

"There's others to worry about other than the team, Gordon." Skye said. "But we'll deal."

"Fine. But don't let me regret leaving you here like this." Gordon replied, blinking out of sight and leaving the couple alone.

Ward scoffed and set his gaze on Skye, "He's too paranoid about things." he commented. "We'll be okay. Right?"

Skye smiled and buried her head into Ward's chest, "Grant, you're about as bad as him when it comes to worrying. This is the Bus of all places, we're not going to die here. We don't have to worry about Coulson trying to kill us."

"Yeah, but what about that Gonzales guy?" Ward asked. "He's the one that sent the soldiers after us that got us into all of that trouble in the first place. Who's to say that he won't try something like that again?"

"Again, too much worrying." Skye repeated. "Loosen up. Be glad that we're back with the others."

Ward looked around, "Where are they anyway?" he questioned.

"Probably on a mission or something." Skye replied. "Ever since San Juan, it's been mission after mission for them. And no telling what they've been doing since we went missing. Coulson's probably going to kill us when they get back from wherever they are."

"No, they'll be in too much shock for them to do anything." Ward said, smiling. "Simmons might tackle you or something." He raised an eyebrow and looked towards the door that led to the hangar as a loud noise sounded. The hangar door was opening. "And it looks like that time is now."

"Do we go meet them and scare the crap out of them out there, or do we just stay here?" Skye asked.

"Stay here."

"Fine." Ward sighed. "Let's just stand here and wait to see what happens."

They stood there as the sound of the team talking drifted into the lounge and they heard the door open. It sounded as though Fitz and Hunter were having a contest to see who could be louder. The cacophony grew louder until it suddenly died out as the team came into view, all staring at the two standing in the middle of the Bus' lounge.

"Skye? Grant?" Coulson asked, mouth slightly agape. "You're still alive?"

Skye smiled sheepishly and waved slightly, "I guess we should've done something else other than just stand here." she said.

"Where the hell were you two?!" Coulson demanded, speaking for everyone there. Everyone still stared at the two, surprised at their sudden appearance. "You had us worried sick! You've been gone for way over a week! We thought that Gonzales' men had killed you or had captured you!"

"Well, it's a long story," Ward began. "But we did get away. But I don't think you would believe any of it."

Coulson blinked, "Try me." he stated. "I'll probably believe anything by now. So, really, go ahead and tell us."

Skye and Ward exchanged glances with one another before they started to explain what had happened. But they were hoping that they wouldn't regret telling Coulson and the team of the Inhuman village.

* * *

(Sometime Later)

"Coulson, you are a fool to think that going in and making some kind of pact with these _freaks _is a good idea. They think SHIELD as a threat." Gonzales explained, glaring at Coulson.

"And two of these 'freaks' are members of my team, Robert." Coulson snapped back. "I just want to go in and show that we mean no harm. I just want to talk to their leader. That's all."

"Coulson, for any of this to work, you don't need to be going in there and talking to this 'Jiayang' or whatnot. I don't care if this 'village' took care of two of your best agents. Hell, I don't care that your two best agents are aliens, Coulson. They're all the same."

Coulson narrowed his eyes, "I just want to prevent any kind of feud between us and the Inhumans." he said. "Mostly because of Skye and Grant. They're good people, Robert, even if they're not fully human. Yes, one controls vibrational energy or whatnot and the other controls fire, but that doesn't matter."

"Yes it does!" Gonzales exclaimed. "That makes them dangerous, even if they can control these powers! And there's no telling how much more dangerous their kind can get! That's why going in like how you want to isn't a good idea!

Coulson, you need to think clearly. These people don't like SHIELD and your tactics aren't the way to go. You need to go another way around all of this. And you're in no position to go talk to the leader of this race or whatever. You've got other problems to worry about."

Coulson blinked, "Then what are you suggesting I should do?" he asked. "If I'm not the one to go in and talk to them."

"Let me go, Coulson." Gonzales suggested, shifting his cane. "Yes, I said it was risky, but I'll go. Tell me what I need to say and I'll do it."

"I thought you said that talking to them was a bad idea."

"Yes, I did. But mostly you. You're not the _convincing _type, Coulson." Gonzales explained. "I'll convince this Jiayang or whoever that SHIELD means no harm and we have a few questions. That's it." He raised an eyebrow, "Good?"

Coulson hesitated before responding, unsure of whether to trust Gonzales with this. Gonzales was the man that wanted Skye and Ward dealt with because of their Inhuman nature, and he wanted to go in Coulson's place? But Coulson knew it was risky for himself to go in.

He held his breath and nodded, "Don't disappoint me, Robert."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. Sorry for such the long wait, I didn't know what to write again. But you see where I'm going now. Next is the Gonzales/Jiayang confrontation that starts the war between SHIELD and the Inhumans. But what side will Skye and Ward be on? And will they even be on the same side? I don't know. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	31. Chapter 31 (And the Fire Burns)

**Chapter Thirty-One (And the Fire Burns)**

(Later)

Ward's eyes trailed around his surroundings in Afterlife before going back to Skye, "And why the hell do we have to be back here?" he asked. "You know that I don't like it here."

"Coulson wanted us to make sure that Gonzales' talk with my mother goes well." Skye started to explain. She narrowed her eyes, "I don't know why Coulson let that guy go. He's bad news, I just know it. He's the guy that wanted the both of us dead and now he's wanting to reason with an entire population of people like us. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever."

Ward shrugged, "We'll know if something goes wrong, Skye." he replied. "Maybe something changed while we were gone."

"We weren't gone that long, Grant. Someone's opinion of an entire race doesn't change in a matter of a couple of weeks." Skye continued, shivering as an eerie feeling settled in the square that they were in. "I'm afraid that something bad is going to happen."

"Look, Coulson's got men in the air. May, Hunter, and Morse are around here somewhere. He just wanted us close to the meeting because it involves your mother and we're pretty much the most powerful agents he has." Ward explained, taking Skye's hand. "If something goes wrong, we can fight our way out until Coulson can pull us out of here." He looked her in the eyes, allowing a small spark of flame to flash in his, "We'll be fine, babe. You don't have to worry about either of us. There's bigger problems than us."

Skye smiled slightly in response, "I… I guess you're right. But still, something's wrong here. I can feel it. Some kind of weird vibration in the air. I don't know how to explain it."

"Maybe there's a storm coming or something."

She looked up to the bright blue sky, only seeing a few Quinjets in the air, "Probably not the kind of storm you're thinking of, Grant."

Ward sighed, "Look, just trying to make things better. I don't like this situation either. I don't know why Gonzales would suddenly want to talk to Jiayang peacefully. You're right, he did try to have us killed." he agreed. "We just have to," He was cut off as a scream followed by a gunshot pierced the air. His face fell as both his and Skye's heads whipped towards where Jiayang and Gonzales were, "Dammit. Spoke too freaking soon."

Skye pulled him by the arm, "Come on!" she urged, running towards the building.

They began to run, only to be stopped as Jiayang came running out of the building, clutching a bleeding shoulder/chest. Skye froze, starting to panic.

"Mom?" she asked.

Jiayang's face fell, hardening as she saw Skye, "Why do you believe in those murderers?" she asked coldly. "SHIELD only wants to imprison and kill us. Try to control us! You told me that we could trust them!" She fell to the ground, still bleeding.

Ward watched as Skye ran over to her mother's side, his eyes darting around the square. SHIELD boots were already on the ground, armed agents ready to fight. Scared Inhumans were already running for their lives. He had to get Skye out of here and back to the safety of the team before the both of them got caught in the crossfire.

"Mom!" Skye exclaimed. "Mom!"

"You told me that I could trust them. You lied to me."

"I-I didn't know!"

"Daisy…"

Ward started towards Skye, pulling on her shoulder, "Skye, we've got to get the hell out of here and back to Coulson. It's about to get really bad. If someone fights back."

"My people will kill your agents." Jiayang breathed.

Ward gulped, something felt really off about all of this. Something was really, really fishy about how this was going down. It almost felt, _faked. _But he didn't say anything. "Skye, we've got to go."

"And you would leave your own mother for this man?" Jiayang asked almost harshly.

Skye breathed, looking her boyfriend in the eyes. She only saw fear and worry in them. No fire burned, he wasn't wanting to fight. He was only wanting to get her out of there.

She took another look at her mother, who had already passed out. Then she looked around at the growing chaos of the square. Then back to Ward.

"Skye, we may not make it out of here if we don't go ahead and go." Ward pleaded. "She's not going to die, I know it. Coulson will get to her most likely. He won't kill her, she'll be fine. But you won't be."

Skye gulped and nodded, gingerly taking Ward's hand. "F-Fine.." she stammered. "But if this all goes bad and we die…"

"We're not going to die, Skye." Ward said with a slight snap. He looked at her, fire starting to burn in his eyes, "I'm gonna damn make sure that we live." Gunfire filled the air as they quickened their pace, "We've got to find one of the team then get the hell out of here. We're making it out of here."

* * *

(Elsewhere)

"Dammit!" Coulson spat. "I knew that Gonzales would freaking blow it!"

Mack raised an eyebrow, "Then why didn't you go?" he questioned. "Or had May go?"

"I don't know, Mack. I don't know." Coulson replied, shaking his head. "Fitzsimmons are safe, right?"

Mack nodded, "Yep. Both in the lab downstairs." he replied. "What about the others?"

"I sent a message to May, Morse, and Hunter to on the lookout for Skye and Ward. I don't need them getting caught in the crossfire of this thing. As soon as they're all back here, we're getting the hell out of here." Coulson explained, looking at the monitors of the Holocom room. "Gonzales started a war here and the Inhumans are going to blame us for it."

"Isn't Jiayang Skye's mother?" Mack asked. "How do you expect Skye to leave her side?"

"Because Ward's with her. There's no one else she loves more than that one man." Coulson replied. "He's going to make sure that she survives. He's going to make sure that the _both _of them survive."

"And how do you know that Gonzales' men won't kill them in the crossfire?"

"I don't know. I'm just hoping that they'll survive. The both of them are strong. Stronger than all of Gonzales' men combined. They'll be fine."

"I hope you're right, sir."

"I hope I'm right too."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_I don't own AoS, Marvel does. I'm so sorry for such the long wait, I had complete and utter burnout with this. But I think I'm back. And I meant to update earlier this week because school has been cancelled all week because of the floods in my state (I'm fine though). Just never got around to it. So, the shooting of Jiayang happens and the 'war' begins. But Ward pulls Skye back towards SHIELD, well Coulson's SHIELD. So only a few chapters left and I hope to get it finished within the next couple of weeks. Keep reading and PLEASE favorite, follow, and/or review! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.


	32. Authors Note

Due to personal reasons, I will not be finishing this fic. Mainly because I've recently gotten a lot of hate for it and lack the motivation to finally pick it back up and finish it. I actually regret writing this fic because of how haywire it got at the end. But I am still writing fics, but the are all on Ao3 now. Sorry.


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